• Spaceflux raised £5.4M (approximately $7.2 million) in seed funding to expand its global optical telescope network and scale its AI-driven space situational awareness technologies for 24/7 tracking of satellites and debris.

• The funding round, backed by UKI2S, Foresight Group, and Blackfinch Ventures, positions Spaceflux as a key provider of orbital safety data for commercial, governmental, and defence customers.

• With strong UK government support, Spaceflux intends to address rising concerns over orbital congestion, debris, and space security through independently verified, sovereign tracking infrastructure.

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PRESS RELEASE — Spaceflux, headquartered in London, has successfully closed a £5.4 million (€6.2 million) seed funding round, enabling the company to fast-track the growth of its proprietary global telescope network and push forward innovative space situational awareness (SSA) technologies. The funding comes as calls grow for stronger commercial and sovereign space surveillance capabilities, with recent reports warning that a one-week disruption to satellite navigation could cost the UK economy £7.6 billion.

The funding round, co-led by the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) (managed by Future Planet Capital), Foresight Group, and Blackfinch Ventures, positions Spaceflux to deliver on its ambitious growth plans. The company has also benefited from early support through the Seraphim Space Accelerator as it seeks to strengthen a vital space safety capability that supports government and commercial missions in a rapidly evolving orbital environment.

Spaceflux, founded in 2022, has emerged as a key player in the space surveillance and tracking domain thanks to its proprietary AI-driven analytics and cutting-edge optical sensor systems. Initially providing data and insights on activity in the geostationary orbit to the UK Space Agency and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), the firm has quickly positioned itself as a trusted partner in the broader international space ecosystem.

The company’s ground-based optical sensors track satellites and debris across all orbits, uniquely combining visible and Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) imaging, enabling daylight tracking and characterisation of space objects, which expands the observation window beyond night-time operations, delivering true 24/7 coverage.

Space situational awareness services have become increasingly relevant as both governmental and commercial space actors face growing concerns over orbital crowding, untracked debris and potential adversarial interference. The new capital will enable Spacefux to scale its global sensor network, upgrade its flagship Cortex analytics platform and expand commercial delivery of its tracking services to satellite operators, insurers and government agencies worldwide.

Marco Rocchetto, CEO and co-founder of Spaceflux stated, “As space becomes increasingly essential to our economy, environment and daily lives, it is also becoming more congested and contested. This investment strengthens our ability to protect satellite technology that delivers crucial insights to Earth around the clock, reducing collision risks, and supporting a safer, more sustainable space environment for future generations”.

Alex Leigh, Investment Director Defence & Security, UKI2S (managed by Future Planet Capital) commented on the raise: “This investment marks a significant step in the convergence of defence and space, where dual-use technologies are becoming increasingly important to UK capability. Backed by both the UK Space Agency and MOD (Defence & Security Seed – D2S), we are delighted to be leading this round as it underlines the growing importance of resilient, space-based infrastructure.

“Spaceflux’s technology offers critical insights to help monitor and safeguard orbital assets – supporting both national security and the wider commercial ecosystem. The company is well positioned to scale its impact and meet the needs of customers navigating an increasingly complex space environment.”

Rubina Singh, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight Group: “We’re excited to support the Spaceflux team in scaling their breakthrough technology to new markets. Spaceflux is taking on a vital role in safeguarding space assets we all rely on such as satellites, while delivering strategically important space awareness insights for commercial and national security needs. We’ve been impressed by the ambitious team, the AI-powered scalable platform, and rapid commercial growth since launching in 2022 and look forward to working together for years ahead.”

Kimberley Hay, Ventures Director at Blackfinch, added: “Spaceflux really impressed us with its collective experience and expertise in space safety. Many people don’t realise how much our everyday lives depend on space infrastructure. From navigation and communications to weather forecasting and streaming media, space plays a critical role.”

As demand grows for trusted, sovereign space surveillance, Spaceflux is better positioned than ever to deliver the infrastructure, data and decision-making tools needed to keep satellites safe and ensure long-term sustainability in space. With seed investment successfully secured, the company’s full focus is on leading global efforts to reduce space congestion and improve orbital safety through independently verified, AI-powered tracking solutions.

Additional quote for consideration from the UK Space Agency:

Dr Craig Brown, Investment Director at the UK Space Agency, said: “Through our participation in the UKI2S Space Fund, we’ve been able to support Spaceflux and help them attract additional investment to accelerate development of their innovative capabilities.

“Spaceflux’s growth as a leader in space situational awareness is impressive. Their approach to tracking satellites across all orbits delivers exactly the cutting-edge capability needed to tackle growing orbital congestion and space security challenges.

“As space becomes increasingly vital to our economy and daily lives, companies like Spaceflux are crucial partners in ensuring safe and sustainable operations in this critical domain.”

About Spaceflux

Founded in 2022, Spaceflux is a UK-based space technology company specialising in Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and Space Traffic Management (STM). Using a proprietary global network of optical sensors and its AI-powered analytics platform Cortex, Spaceflux provides advanced tracking and characterisation of space objects to support satellite operators, insurers, and government clients in preventing collisions, protecting their assets, and ensuring long-term orbital security. Since 2023, Spaceflux has become the exclusive provider of geostationary satellite tracking for the UK MoD and UK Space Agency. The firm is committed to advancing SSA and SDA technologies, while promoting responsible and sustainable use of the orbital environment to secure humanity’s future in space.

Source

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• Sophia Space Inc. has raised $3.5 million in pre-seed financing to develop its TILE platform for modular, solar-powered, AI-optimized edge computing in space.
• The round, led by Unlock Ventures with participation from strategic angels and industry leaders, will support the deployment of radiation-resistant, energy-efficient compute modules for satellites, defense systems, and orbital data centers.
• Founded by former NASA JPL Fellow Dr. Leon Alkalai and incubated at Mandala Space Ventures, Sophia Space aims to deliver in-orbit AI acceleration that reduces reliance on terrestrial data centers and supports near-source data processing in extreme environments.

PRESS RELEASE – Sophia Space Inc., a pioneer in modular, solar powered, passively cooled, and AI-optimized compute technology for space applications, announced the closing of a $3.5 million Pre-Seed round of financing. The round was led by Unlock Ventures, with participation from strategic angels and industry leaders. The funding will accelerate the company’s development and deployment of its breakthrough TILE platform, enabling low-latency, energy-efficient AI processing in space.

Founded by NASA decorated space systems engineer and retired JPL Fellow, Dr. Leon Alkalai, and incubated at Mandala Space Ventures, Sophia Space is further developing technology that came out of Caltech and NASA JPL research addressing the rapidly growing need for in-orbit processing, AI acceleration, and edge computing across satellites, defense systems, and commercial space operations.

“We are at the dawn of a new era where our demand for AI technology should not come at the expense of our planetary health due to energy constraints,” said Dr. Leon Alkalai, Founder and Chairman of Sophia Space. “Our modular Sophia TILEs unlock a future of scalable, energy-efficient, orbital compute infrastructure, from satellites and space stations to full-scale orbital data centers that will augment terrestrial data centers in the future.  Doing so will help civil, defense, and commercial customers grow more rapidly without drawing from local energy grids or water supplies as is the case now.”

The company’s TILE architecture features solid-state, self-sustaining compute modules with space cooling and integrated solar power—offering a radiation-resistant, vendor-agnostic solution designed specifically for the harsh environment of space.

“Our customers—from satellite operators to commercial space stations—simply want their data processed and delivered more rapidly,” said Rob DeMillo, CEO of Sophia Space. “Sophia delivers orbital edge computing—processing workloads directly in space, near the source of data, and dramatically reducing the time to insight on Earth. “

Sophia Space has already gained traction with major players in the sector. Jason Aspiotis, Global Director for In-Space Data and Security Growth at Axiom Space, praised Sophia’s approach: “”Sophia’s Tile-based approach lays the foundations for ODCs scalable to MWs of cumulative processing power via a distributed network of ODC nodes. Axiom Space and Sophia have an MoU to collaborate on demonstrating the critical role ODCs can play in realizing “Golden Dome” as a functional element of our national defense architecture.”

• China has launched the world’s first space computing constellation, deploying 12 AI-equipped satellites into orbit aboard a Long March 2D rocket on May 14.
• Developed under the “Star Computing” initiative by Guoxing Aerospace and Zhijiang Laboratory, the satellites offer a combined 5 POPS of onboard computing power with inter-satellite laser links at 100 Gbps.
• The constellation is designed to perform in-orbit AI processing, support real-time Earth observation, and serve as the backbone of a future global space-based computing infrastructure.

China has started building a space super computer constellation with the launch of a dozen AI-equipped satellites, the first of a planned several thousand.

On May 14, a Long March 2D rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, deploying 12 networked satellites developed by Guoxing Aerospace, also known as ADA Space, and Zhijiang Laboratory, according to Guoxing Aerospace and the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The mission, codenamed 021, which stands for 0 to 1, is the initial phase of the “Star Computing” program.

Unlike traditional satellites that downlink raw data to Earth for processing, these AI-enabled satellites are built to perform real-time data processing in orbit. Each satellite is equipped with up to 744 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of computing power. Together, the constellation delivers 5 peta operations per second (POPS), which when fully built would make it the most powerful orbital computing network ever deployed.

The constellation architecture includes high-speed inter-satellite laser communication links capable of transferring data at 100 gigabits per second. This allows for distributed computing across the network, enabling tasks like collaborative Earth observation, autonomous AI model training, and near-instant decision-making on scientific events such as gamma-ray bursts.

The satellites carry an AI-based astronomical time domain model and an X-ray polarimeter to detect and classify transient astrophysical events with near-instant reaction time. Officials say the platform enables “day-to-day” computing rather than “day-to-ground,” reflecting a shift in processing workloads from Earth to orbit.

The satellites also feature onboard digital twin generation, allowing them to create real-time 3D maps of Earth-based targets to support industries such as emergency response, urban planning, and remote tourism.

China has become a major player in the global space industry by building a state-backed, vertically integrated ecosystem that blends government support with a growing commercial sector. With over 500 entities—including state-owned enterprises, private firms, universities, and research institutes—China is advancing across launch services, satellite manufacturing, and space operations, all aligned with its geopolitical goals.

The Space Insider Market Intelligence Platform tracks this dynamic sector and now highlights 270 core organizations in its updated China Space Industry Market Map. The platform also identifies key technologies and investment trends. A newly published report, China’s Space Industry: A Strategic Overview, offers a comprehensive analysis of China’s space strategy, technical progress, and commercial developments across launch, satellite production, and capital flows.

• BlackSky Technology has completed commissioning its first Gen-3 satellite one month ahead of schedule, demonstrating rapid deployment capabilities and early delivery of high-resolution imagery.
• The Gen-3 satellite produced imagery within five days and AI-enabled analytics within three weeks, with early samples enabling detailed observations such as sunroofs on vehicles and individual people.
• BlackSky plans to launch its second Gen-3 unit in Q2 2025 as part of a regular cadence to meet growing demand for real-time, space-based dynamic monitoring services.

PRESS RELEASE – BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) has successfully completed commissioning its first Gen-3 satellite. The first satellite continues to exceed expectations for tasking-to-delivery performance amid positive customer feedback on early very high-resolution 35-centimeter imagery and AI-driven analytics samples.

“BlackSky has demonstrated incredible, industry-leading speed for launch to on-orbit operations, completing commissioning for our first Gen-3 satellite a full month ahead of schedule,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO. “This pace of performance is a testament to our team’s experience, quality and rigor of our design, production and test practices, giving BlackSky a distinct advantage for scaling this service quickly and reliably for our customers.

“The regular cadence of Gen-3 launches will produce a robust combination of capacity and low-latency, high-revisit capabilities to support near-term, early access customers and long-term demand for real-time space-based dynamic monitoring services,” said O’Toole.

Satellite commissioning processes begin immediately after deployment from a launch vehicle and typically includes initial tracking, making first contact and the sequential activation of critical subsystems. Follow-on activities include calibrating payloads, sensors, communications and control systems, and optimizing automated operations across the entire constellation-to-ground architecture. During the Gen-3 commissioning process, BlackSky’s first Gen-3 satellite quickly produced imagery within five days and AI-enabled analytics within three weeks of launch.

“BlackSky has received resounding positive customer response to early very high-resolution 35-centimeter imagery samples. The crispness and detail have enhanced the utility of these data products by giving users the ability to make observations often accomplished with higher resolution systems. In many instances analysts were able to discern details like sunroofs on top of automobiles or individual people and their shadows. This incredible amount of detail, combined with AI-enabled analytics makes available an expansive new set of mission solutions and reduces the speed of analyses over large volumes of imagery from days to minutes,” said O’Toole.

BlackSky has made final preparations to send its second Gen-3 unit to Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, in anticipation of launch in Q2. The Gen-3 launch schedule is proceeding as planned as the company prepares to integrate high-cadence, very high-resolution 35-centimeter imagery into customers’ daily workflows later this year.

• Adaptive Insurance secures $5M seed funding to develop AI-powered parametric insurance solutions for climate resilience.
• Led by Congruent Ventures, with participation from Montauk Climate and Generation Space, the funding supports the nationwide rollout of GridProtect, the first short-term power outage insurance product, providing businesses immediate financial relief amid rising climate-driven disruptions.
• Investment will enhance data analytics capabilities, expand the company’s engineering team, and accelerate the development of additional climate risk-focused parametric insurance products, addressing the increasing frequency of extreme weather and power grid failures across the U.S.

PRESS RELEASE – Adaptive Insurance – a Texas-based climate resiliency company harnessing advanced AI and climate data to redefine climate based parametric insurance – has successfully closed a $5 million USD seed funding round.

Led by Congruent Ventures, with additional investments from Montauk Climate, Generation Space (US arm of Seraphim Space), and private funders, the financing will accelerate the nationwide rollout of Adaptive Insurance’s innovative parametric insurance products, starting with its flagship product, GridProtect.

GridProtect, the first ever short-term power outage insurance product, will use the simplicity of parametric insurance – verified trigger events, agreed-upon payments, and speedy claims processing – to provide immediate financial relief for businesses impacted by short-duration power outages. These outages, which cost American businesses an estimated $150 billion annually, are becoming more frequent as the nation’s aging power grid struggles under increasing demand.

In addition to bringing GridProtect to market, the investment will be used to:

• Enhance unparalleled data and analytics capabilities for more precise risk assessment and faster claim processing.
• Expand Adaptive Insurance’s data science and engineering teams to support continued innovation.
• Develop additional parametric insurance products, scheduled to launch by the end of the year, aimed at addressing a broader range of climate and weather-related risks.

“After more than 20 years in the insurance industry, I’ve witnessed firsthand the growing impact of climate shifts on both the insurance market and consumers,” says Mike Gulla, CEO and Co-Founder of Adaptive Insurance. “With the severity of weather extremes, population shifts, regulations, and legacy systems, traditional insurance models simply aren’t agile enough to mitigate the immediate financial shocks that businesses face during increasingly frequent power outages.

“With GridProtect (and all our parametric solutions), we want to change that. By leveraging AI and real-time climate data, we’re offering businesses rapid relief and resilience against everyday weather events, eliminating the traditional waiting periods. We’re immensely grateful to have found like-minded investors keen to support us on this mission as we set out to change how businesses safeguard against climate risks.”

Kevin Kopczynski at Congruent Ventures comments: “The environment is changing faster than our communities, infrastructure and traditional insurance can adapt – leaving businesses to bear the risk of increasingly frequent disruptions. Starting with GridProtect, Adaptive Insurance combines proven insurance sector experience with a forward-thinking, data-driven framework to offer customers simple and timely solutions to seemingly complex risks. We are excited to be partnering with the team to rethink what climate insurance can be.”

Philip Krim at Montauk Climate, adds: “The most important aspect to understand about Adaptive is that it offers businesses immediate financial relief when short-term power outages strike. Traditional insurance is usually slow and complicated, but Adaptive is changing that. This is the first-ever short-duration power outage insurance product designed specifically to protect U.S. business owners. Adaptive is filling a massive gap with a simple, fast, and effective platform. We’re big believers in the potential of parametric product applications within the insurance industry.”

“It’s exciting to support a company that’s filling a critical market gap with a very smart solution,” says Lewis Jones of Generation Space (US arm of Seraphim Space). “Their technology not only provides immediate relief in the face of weather events but also lays the foundation for long-term resilience and significant cost savings that can be redirected towards business growth, employee support, and community engagement.”

America’s power grid is showing signs of strain, with 70% of its infrastructure over 25 years old – much of which is approaching the end of its lifespan. As electricity consumption from datacenters, clean transportation, and air conditioning pushes the system further, the risk and costs of failure grow. The average annual number of weather-related power outages increased by roughly 78% during 2011-2021, compared to the previous decade, underscoring the urgent need for solutions like the ones Adaptive is providing.

• DPhi Space, a Swiss startup focused on shared satellites for hosted payloads, has secured a CHF 2.1 million — or 2.3 Million US — pre-seed investment led by QBIT Capital, with participation from Zurich Cantonal Bank, Apprecia Capital, Kickfund, and other investors.

• The funding will support the launch of DPhi Space’s first Clustergate platform, a standardized container for aggregating multiple hosted payloads with integrated computing, AI processing, and real-time data analytics.

• Clustergate aims to lower costs, simplify space access, and provide flexible infrastructure, positioning itself as an in-orbit data center for commercial customers expanding their constellations or entering space for the first time.

PRESS RELEASE — We are excited to announce that DPhi Space, a Swiss startup pioneering shared satellites for hosted payloads, has successfully closed a CHF 2.1 million pre-seed investment round led by QBIT Capital, with support from Zurich Cantonal Bank, Apprecia Capital, Kickfund, and other strategic investors.

This funding marks a critical milestone, enabling DPhi Space to launch its first Clustergate platform into orbit and further develop its services to make access to space simpler and more affordable.

‍Clustergate: A new approach to shared satellites

Clustergate is the first product of DPhi Space, designed to aggregate multiple hosted payloads in a standardized container.  With an integrated in-house-developed computing and software platform, this allows seamless hosting on any spacecraft and enables in-orbit computing, AI processing, and real-time data analytics at the edge.

‍Why is this a game changer:‍

• Lower Cost: no need for dedicated satellite missions
• Plug-and-play access: no prior space expertise required
• Flexible infrastructure: supports both hardware and software payloads
• A datacenter in space: think cloud computing, but in orbit

Aziz Belkhiria, Co-Founder & CEO of DPhi Space shared: ‍”This funding round brings us closer to our vision of making space more accessible through a shared satellite infrastructure. With Clustergate’s upcoming launch, we’re excited to support multiple commercial customers—whether they’re expanding their constellations or reaching space for the first time”

Georges Khneysser, General Partner at QBIT Capital said: “DPhi Space is pioneering a fundamental shift in how businesses access and leverage space infrastructure. We are proud to back the exceptional team’s vision and excited to see Clustergate take flight!”

‍With this investment, DPhi Space is expanding its engineering team and pushing the boundaries of hosted payloads and in-orbit computing.

• Japan’s space agency JAXA, Fujitsu, and partners are developing an AI-based space weather forecasting system to protect astronauts from harmful radiation on the moon.
• The system will analyze past solar activity data from NASA to predict high-energy particle storms before they reach the lunar surface.
• Japan aims to complete the technology by fiscal 2025, aligning with planned moon landings under NASA’s Artemis program in 2027 and Japan’s own crewed missions from 2028 onward.

Japan plans to develop an artificial intelligence-based system to forecast space weather on the moon, aiming to protect astronauts from dangerous radiation.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Fujitsu Ltd., and other partners are working on the system to predict solar storms that send high-energy particles toward the moon’s surface. Without Earth’s protective atmosphere and magnetic field, astronauts on the moon are directly exposed to this radiation, which can pose serious health risks. The system is intended to support Japan’s participation in NASA’s Artemis program, which seeks to return humans to the lunar surface later this decade.

JAXA and its partners expect to complete the forecasting technology by the end of fiscal 2025, according to The Japan News. The AI system will analyze historical data from NASA on solar activity and radiation levels that reached Earth and space in past events. Fujitsu will train its AI program on satellite observations of solar flares — explosive bursts of energy from the sun — to recognize patterns and predict future radiation storms before they reach the moon.

Solar flares occur frequently, especially near sunspots, and when large flares erupt, they send streams of high-energy particles into space. On Earth, the planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field deflect much of this radiation. The moon, however, has no such protection, making even a single solar storm a potential hazard for astronauts working on the surface.

NASA aims to land astronauts on the moon in 2027, marking the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo. Japan is also planning to send Japanese astronauts to the moon in or after 2028. The AI-powered forecast system could allow astronauts to take shelter before radiation reaches dangerous levels, reducing the risk of prolonged exposure.

Chihiro Mitsuda, a senior manager at Fujitsu, told The Japan News, “We want to develop a technology which can judge details in activities on the moon depending on levels of risks of being exposed to radiation rays.”

Radiation exposure is a major challenge for deep-space missions. Prolonged exposure to high-energy particles can increase the risk of cancer and damage the central nervous system. NASA and other space agencies have studied shielding methods and underground habitats as potential countermeasures, but accurate forecasting could provide another layer of protection.

AI models have already proven useful in predicting solar activity on Earth, and researchers hope to refine them for lunar applications. The system JAXA and Fujitsu are developing could eventually be adapted for future Mars missions, where radiation exposure is an even greater concern.