German space tech startup LiveEO secures €19m to bring space data insights to Industry 4.0

Berlin-based space tech startup LiveEO has secured €19 million in funding in what is one of the largest investments to date in Earth Observation in Europe.

The round was led by MMC Ventures and includes €17m of venture capital, as well as further funds from the European Commission and Investitionsbank Berlin. All existing shareholders continue to back LiveEO and have participated in the round, including Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures (DvH Ventures), Helen Ventures, Matterwave, and motu ventures. Segenia Capital and Hannover Digital Investments (HDInv) have joined the round as new investors alongside MMC. 

Daniel Seidel, Co-founder and co-CEO, LiveEO: “We are kicking off the third big wave of commercialisation of the space industry. After huge investments in rockets and satellites in the past years, it is time for companies like us to develop highly automated applications which translate data from hundreds of Earth Observation satellites into real value for end-users.” 

Sven Przywarra, Co-founder and co-CEO, LiveEO: “It is exciting to see that our vision, as well as our execution so far, has attracted interest and investment from both top-tier venture capital firms as well as the public sector. We want to bring insights derived from space imagery to every global value chain, and continue to focus on human-centred applications. This financing round brings us a significant step closer to that goal.”

Since its €5.25 million Series A round in 2021, LiveEO has more than doubled its headcount, tripled itsrevenue, signed new customers across five continents, and strengthened its market-leading position in infrastructure monitoring. In the past four years since inception, LiveEO's products have empowered the clients to streamline their maintenance operations, making them safer and more efficient, and saving thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions in the process. Deep tech investor MMC has shown great interest in the NewSpace ecosystem, and identified Earth Observation as a fast-growing market. The investment round is a testament to this assessment.

Andrei Dvornic, Principal, MMC Ventures: “We are excited to lead this round for LiveEO and it reflects MMC’s continued focus on emerging datasets and companies that develop AI analytics to power core business decisions. LiveEO offers a critical tool that paves the way for sustainable industry automation, and we wholeheartedly support the company’s vision of leveraging satellite technologies, big data, and the latest developments in artificial intelligence to help companies adapt to the challenges posed by climate change.”

The new funds will accelerate LiveEO's global market expansion for its infrastructure monitoring products and fund entry into new markets such as insurance. New investor HDInv under leadership of Ulrich Wallin, will support product development and go-to-market for the insurance sector, where LiveEO can contribute to better-informed decision making.

live-eo.com