Open Cosmos raises 300 million euros against contract intake of about 106 million dollars a year
The round is one of several nine-figure European space raises this year. It goes to a manufacturer that says it has been profitable for five years and had not taken outside money since a 50 million dollar Series B in 2023.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Lightrock led a 300 million euro round in UK-based Open Cosmos, which says the money will expand its satellite manufacturing and data services.
- New investors include the UK's National Security Strategic Investment Fund, the Institut Catala de Finances, Entrepreneurs First, Phoenix Court, Convex Group and two unnamed pension funds.
- The company's previous external financing was a $50 million Series B in September 2023, with earlier backers ETF Partners, Trill Impact and Santander Alternative Investments returning this time.
- Open Cosmos says it has booked more than $370 million of new contracts over the past three and a half years.
- The raise follows Finland's ICEYE, which took more than 1 billion euros in June and has since been valued at over 10 billion euros on the back of NATO defence contracts.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint Open Cosmos walks into the same sovereign tenders with 30 cents of new capital for every euro ICEYE raised in June, so it has to win on delivery time and unit cost.
- Who's exposed exposure Two public investors on the register tie the company's expansion to procurement priorities in Britain and Catalonia, and give both a view inside a supplier they may also buy from.
- What's now possible capability About 750,000 euros per head of fresh capital lets the company commit to factory space and launch capacity well ahead of the orders that would pay for it.
- What it sets up precedent With the EU's Scaleup Fund co-leading The Exploration Company's $450m Series C and national funds in this one, public money is becoming a standing term in European space rounds.
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Contract intake has run at roughly $106 million a year [15], and Open Cosmos says it has been profitable for five consecutive years [17].
The company runs four businesses. OpenOrbit builds satellites to customer order, OpenConstellation lets governments and companies share one network instead of each building their own, ConnectedCosmos sells secure broadband and IoT links between space and the ground, and DataCosmos turns raw imagery into information, such as spotting a temperature spike in a forest and alerting firefighters even where ground internet is out [10]. Three of the four are named as destinations for the money: the shared network, the connectivity business and the data business [9]. OpenOrbit is not among them.
The manufacturing claim is a rate. There are four factories, in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Greece, and the company says it can build a satellite a day [18]. On a five-day week that is about 250 satellites a year, and flat out 365 [23], the same order as the 300 to 400 units a year Spire Global is building toward in the UK, the US and Germany [12]. Open Cosmos reports a 100% mission success rate and says its focus on profitability differs from ICEYE's strategy [20]. It went from securing spectrum licences to launching its first satellites in two and a half months [21].
"Space infrastructure is becoming as critical as energy, digital networks and transport," said founder and chief executive Rafel Jorda Siquier [11]. UK space minister Baroness Lloyd called the funding "a major vote of confidence ... in Britain's growing space sector" and linked it to the government's new space strategy [13].
The competitive set is not short of money either. Loft Orbital has raised about $326 million and is valued at close to $1 billion [3], and Sifted reports it has struck a billion-dollar deal with the UAE's Marlan Space to build an AI-powered constellation, with the French model maker Mistral supplying the AI [4]. Sifted describes the appetite behind rounds like this one as investor backing for Europe's sovereign space capabilities [2].
Two readings. If mid-sized states would rather rent orbital capacity than build it, OpenConstellation is the cheaper route for them, and five profitable years make Open Cosmos a credible counterparty for a long procurement. If sovereignty in practice means owning the hardware, the sharing model loses to national programmes and to ICEYE's approach [20], and the €300 million has bought plant for demand that goes elsewhere. I lean to the first, because sharing an existing network is the one product on that list that does not require the buyer to fund a satellite programme [10]. If intake stays near the $106 million average while the factories and the payroll grow, the profitability record breaks before the thesis does. The company did not disclose a valuation.
What to watch
- The first OpenConstellation deal signed with a national government after this round, and what a share of the network costs.
- Whether ICEYE converts its NATO work into orders that Open Cosmos was also bidding for.
- Whether the next European space round of this size closes without a public fund on the register.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence40
- Adoption48
- Hype gap+28
- Incentives72
- Confidence52
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Open Cosmos has secured 300 million euros in new funding, led by Lightrock, to expand its satellite manufacturing and data services.
- [2]
UK-based satellite startup Open Cosmos has raised 300 million euros in fresh funding amid ongoing investor appetite to back technologies that boost Europe's sovereign space capabilities.
- [3]
Loft Orbital, a company with origins in both France and the United States, has raised about $326 million so far and is now worth nearly $1 billion.
- [4]
Loft Orbital struck a billion-dollar deal with the UAE's Marlan Space to build an AI-powered satellite constellation; the deal includes a partnership with French AI model maker Mistral, which will provide AI capabilities for the systems.
- [5]
The most recent external financing Open Cosmos obtained was a $50 million Series B round in September 2023.
- [6]
Over the past three and a half years, Open Cosmos has secured more than $370 million in new contracts.
- [7]
Among the new investors are Entrepreneurs First, the Institut Catala de Finances, Phoenix Court, the UK's National Security Strategic Investment Fund, Convex Group, and two unnamed pension funds.
- [8]
ETF Partners, A&G Global Investors, Trill Impact, Santander Alternative Investments and Claret Capital Partners, previous investors in the company, took part in the round alongside Lightrock.
- [9]
The funds raised will be used to expand ConnectedCosmos, OpenConstellation and DataCosmos, as well as to support the growth of a team of about 400 people based in four locations.
- [10]
OpenOrbit designs and constructs satellites for customers; OpenConstellation enables governments and companies to share a satellite network rather than building their own; ConnectedCosmos provides secure broadband and IoT links between space and the ground; DataCosmos converts raw satellite images into useful information, for instance detecting a temperature spike in a forest and alerting firefighters even when ground-based internet is unavailable.
- [11]
"Space infrastructure is becoming as critical as energy, digital networks and transport," remarked founder and chief executive Rafel Jorda Siquier.
- [12]
Spire Global, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is increasing its satellite production to between 300 and 400 units each year in the UK, the US and Germany.
- [13]
UK Space Minister Baroness Lloyd described the funding as "a major vote of confidence ... in Britain's growing space sector" and linked it to the government's new space strategy.
- [14]
The Exploration Company raised a $450m Series C led by Bessemer, Atomico and the EU's Scaleup Fund.
- [15]
More than $370 million of new contracts over three and a half years is an average intake of about $106 million a year.
- [16]
300 million euros across a team of about 400 people is roughly 750,000 euros of new capital per employee.
- [17]
Open Cosmos states that it has been profitable for five consecutive years, which distinguishes it from most other space startups.
- [18]
Open Cosmos currently operates four factories in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Greece, and claims it can build a satellite each day.
- [19]
ICEYE, a radar-imaging company from Finland, raised more than 1 billion euros in June and has since reached a value of over 10 billion euros, thanks to contracts with NATO for defence purposes.
- [20]
Open Cosmos is focused on achieving profitability rather than rapidly increasing its valuation, having reported a profit for five years running and achieved a 100% mission success rate, which differs from ICEYE's strategy.
- [21]
Open Cosmos took only two and a half months to go from securing satellite spectrum licences to launching its first satellites, a speed rare for projects of this kind in Europe.
- [22]
Open Cosmos's 300 million euro round is 30% of the more than 1 billion euros ICEYE raised in June.
- [23]
A build rate of one satellite a day implies about 250 satellites a year on a five-day week and 365 running every day, the same order as Spire Global's stated 300 to 400 units a year.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- sifted.euSatellite startup Open Cosmos raises €300m amid space frenzy
1 article · September 14, 2026
- techfundingnews.comOpen Cosmos zips €300M to scale European satellite manufacturing
1 article · September 14, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Satellite Manufacturing
- Earth observation data
- Venture Funding Rounds
- Space connectivity
- European technology sovereignty
Entities
- Isar Aerospace
- Rafel Jorda Siquier
- The Exploration Company
- Entrepreneurs First
- ICEYE
- Mistral AI
- National Security Strategic Investment Fund
- Institut Català de Finances