Open Cosmos raises 300 million from investors, including the ICF

BarcelonaThe Catalan company Open Cosmos, a manufacturer of satellites and space infrastructure, has raised 300 million euros in a round in which the Catalan Finance Institute (ICF) participated, among others. The operation takes place in a context of increased investment by governments and companies in secure and strategic space systems, highlights the company presided over by Pere Mier.

The round was led by European investors and, in addition to the ICF, Lightrock, ETF Partners, Entrepreneurs First, and two major international pension funds participated. Other notable investors included A&G Global Investors, Santander Alternative Investments, and Sankara.

With these resources, the company will expand its satellite mass production capacity and accelerate the deployment of intelligence and connectivity services through the expansion of the ConnectedCosmos, OpenConstellation, and DataCosmos projects. Spain has established itself as one of the main drivers of Open Cosmos' growth in Europe, the company explains. The firm concentrates industrial capabilities, specialized talent, and some of its most strategic projects there.

Barcelona hosts the headquarters of Open Cosmos in Spain and a recently expanded cleanroom from which satellites are designed, manufactured, and assembled for national and international clients. In any case, its activity also extends to the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, and the Canary Islands, territories where it develops different initiatives linked to Earth observation and services based on satellite data. From Spain, the company leads some of the country's most important projects, such as the Spanish Atlantic Constellation, one of the main Earth observation initiatives promoted by public administrations to reinforce the country's strategic and technological capabilities.

"The funding round will contribute to strengthening the technological and industrial capabilities developed in the country and to boosting the telecommunications and intelligence business lines, areas where the company is well-positioned in Spain", they highlight in a statement. The participation of the ICF in the funding round "highlights the institutional support for the growth of a Spanish company with significant international projection".

The Minister of Industry, Jordi Hereu, has highlighted that "funding rounds like the one Open Cosmos has just raised are an example of the competitiveness of the country's companies and very good news for the growth of the space industry in Spain". Rafael Jordà, CEO and founder of Open Cosmos, states that "Europe needs to strengthen its technological and space sovereignty, and Spain must be a protagonist in this".

The company has signed new contracts worth 320 million over the last three and a half years and has accumulated five consecutive years of profitable growth, it asserts. Open Cosmos has the capacity to manufacture up to one satellite per day at its four plants spread across Europe, including the one in Barcelona. The company has launched a new generation of OpenConstellation satellites, its shared constellation. This evolution has allowed for the reduction of data access times for Earth observation, going from up to 48 hours to around 30 minutes.