US-based geospatial data analytics technology developer HawkEye 360 received $5.3m on Monday in an extension to its series A-3 round that was led by defence systems producer Raytheon.
Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, a regional subsidiary of Japan-headquartered conglomerate Sumitomo, also took part in the extension, which brought the round to $14.9m, along with Razor’s Edge Ventures, Shield Capital, Allied Minds and Space Angels.
The company raised the first $9.6m in series A-3 funding last month, securing the cash from Allied Minds, Razor’s Edge Ventures, Shield Capital and an undisclosed aerospace and defence firm likely to be Raytheon.
Founded in 2015, HawkEye 360 is developing small low Earth orbit satellites that collect information on radio frequency (RF) signals, analysing them, using geospatial technology to pinpoint their location and generating reports for users.
The technology has applications in areas such as search and rescue missions, logistics tracking, the detection of human trafficking and the identification of spectrum interference.
HawkEye 360 expects to launch a pilot satellite cluster later this year and will use the latest funding to finish development of its first commercial cluster, scheduled to take place in 2019.
The company raised $11m in a 2016 series A round led by Razor’s Edge that featured Allied Minds and an unnamed defence industry entity, but has not revealed details about its series A-2 funding.
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.