Australia-based nanosatellite technology developer Myriota closed a $15m series A round yesterday featuring Boeing HorizonX Ventures and Singtel Innov8, respective subsidiaries of aerospace company Boeing and telecoms firm Singapore Telecommunications.
The round was co-led by venture capital firm Blue Sky Venture Capital, which invested out of the $38m South Australian Venture Capital Fund it manages on behalf of the South Australian government, and Main Sequence Ventures, which manages research institute Csiro’s innovation fund. VC firm Right Click Capital also participated.
Founded in 2015, Myriota is working on a network of low-Earth nanosatellites that will facilitate global internet-of-things connectivity. The satellites are approximately as large as a shoebox and weigh less than 10 kilograms.
The technology has applications in areas such as agriculture, maritime, environmental monitoring, oil and gas, mining and defence. Myriota was set to launch its first satellite into orbit last month, but the launch was postponed and the company now expects to launch the satellite at some point this summer.
Proceeds from the round, which represents HorizonX’s first investment outside the US, will enable Myriota to launch additional satellites, deploy large-scale applications and open new sales and customer support offices in North America and Asia.
Myriota plans to hire at least 50 additional team members, with the majority based at its headquarters in South Australia. The company had received $1.4m in capital from satellite data services provider ExactEarth in 2015 as part of a strategic partnership.
Alex Grant, Myriota’s CEO, said: “The fact we have managed to engage such a stellar list of investors does not just underline the quality of our tech and intellectual property – it also gives us access to highly strategic resources and capabilities as we move to the next level.
“We are excited to have global investors like Boeing HorizonX and Singtel Innov8 supporting our mission to deliver the internet of things for everyone, everywhere.”
– Image courtesy of Myriota. The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.