US-based nanosatellite manufacturer Spire Global raised more than $40m yesterday in a series D round that included mobile semiconductor producer Qualcomm and diversified conglomerates Itochu and Mitsui.
GPO Fund led the round, which also attracted the state-owned Scottish Investment Bank as well as Perennial Value Management, Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), RRE Capital, Expon Capital, Seraphim Capital and unnamed additional investors. Qualcomm took part through corporate venturing unit Qualcomm Ventures.
Founded in 2012 as NanoSatisfi, Spire Global operates a network of nanosatellites that facilitate advanced weather monitoring and forecasting as well as aviation tracking.
The company formally unveiled a dedicated business unit for the maritime industry in February 2019. Spire Maritime is working on technologies such as vessel ownership detection, historical vessel usage data analytics and cargo patterns.
Spire will put the capital towards bolstering its analytics and space technology capabilities, while scaling product, sales and marketing efforts internationally with a particular focus on the Asia Pacific region. Tess Hatch, an investor with BVP, will join its board of directors.
Luxembourgish state-owned investment vehicle Luxembourg Future Fund (LFF) was among the investors in Spire’s series C round in 2017, which was reportedly closed at $70m, though the remaining investors have not been revealed.
Promus Ventures had led a $40m series B round for the company in 2015 that almost doubled its total funding to just over $80m, participating alongside Jump Capital, RRE Ventures and Lemnos Labs.
Spire received $25m in a 2014 series A round led by RRE Ventures, with commitments from internet company Qihoo 360, Mitsui subsidiary Mitsui Global Investment and Moose Capital. Its earlier backers include Beamonte Investments, Emerge, Shasta Ventures and Grishin Robotics.
