Madrid and Lisbon – FOSSA Systems has raised a €6.3M Series A round to grow its IoT satellite constellation focused on remote asset management for industrial use cases.
The funding was co-led by Emerald CVC-as-a-Service client Nabtesco Technology Ventures and Indico Capital Partners, with the participation of Newmind Venture and Sabadell Venture Capital.
This capital raise will help FOSSA grow its IoT satellite constellation focused on remote asset management for industrial use cases and will support the creation of its 80-satellite direct-to-device communications network for customers to securely track and monitor their remote assets. Fossa has extensive space heritage, with 17 nanosatellites launched into orbit since 2021, proving its ability to provide IoT communication. The full constellation will provide low-latency communications to its customers across the globe.
FOSSA recently announced a collaboration with Microsoft to provide accessible IoT satellite connectivity for agriculture use cases, and is rapidly growing their customer base in the Maritime, Logistics, Energy and National Security use verticals.
The IoT market has not kept pace with the rapid growth of broadband satellite communications, as companies still depend on terrestrial providers covering only 20% of the Earth and costly legacy satellite operators. Sectors like agriculture, forestry, resource extraction, logistics, energy, and defense require affordable, low-power, reliable data sources for optimal performance and rapid response to unexpected events. FOSSA’s IoT satellite constellation also promises to aid sustainable initiatives in remote offshore environments that are typically difficult to access for monitoring and maintenance, such as in energy, aquaculture, ocean monitoring and efficient cargo routing. FOSSA is well-positioned to meet this growing demand, with the global IoT market projected to grow 20% annually through 2030, potentially reaching $4 billion.
The Spain-based startup opened an R&D center in Portugal late last year and is beginning its international expansion to provide both dedicated satellite networks and asset management services through its constellation.
“We’re thrilled to strengthen our satellite IoT offering as a commercial service and consolidate our nanosatellite technology at the core of our business model. This investment will drastically accelerate FOSSA’s time to market and consolidate our position as a dominant satellite IoT solution provider” says Julián Fernández, CEO and Co-Founder of FOSSA.
“FOSSA has clearly demonstrated its technical prowess in the development of nanosatellites,” says NTV managing partner Hiroshi Nerima. “We are excited to see its continued expansion across industries and geographies.”
Stephan Morais, Managing General Partner at Indico Capital Partners, added: “We look forward to supporting FOSSA through the Indico Blue Fund. Their solution addresses a critical need for IoT connectivity in remote areas, in a world where reliable monitoring and tracking of assets is greatly valued, namely in the ocean.”
With this Series A funding, FOSSA Systems is well-positioned to lead the transformation of IoT connectivity through its innovative satellite network. By expanding their satellite constellation and enhancing their global reach, FOSSA aims to provide robust, reliable, and cost-effective solutions for remote asset management across various industrial sectors. This investment not only underscores the confidence of key investors in FOSSA’s vision but also marks a significant milestone in their mission to revolutionize the IoT landscape.
The FOSSA deal was sourced by clean-tech venture capital pioneer Emerald Technology Ventures under its unique corporate venture capital-as-a-service mandate. Under this framework, Emerald manages all of NTV’s investment activity, aiming to provide the best value for collaboration with innovation leaders like FOSSA.