Satellites play a critical role when it comes to getting raw information and how they are used. Getting that raw data into a state that can be used by enterprises is not the same as getting it into a state that can be used. Today, a Berlin-based startup called LiveEO has raised 19 million on the back of strong demand for its tech from companies working in transportation and energy infrastructure.
The rise of companies like LiveEO comes on the back of a period of rapid commercialization in infrastructure intended to be used in space, typified by companies like SpaceX and a new wave of satellites themselves. As with the larger opportunity in enterprise IT, big data players like LiveEO are the second wave of that development.
The co-founding and co-lead of LiveEO is Daniel Seidel. The LiveEO is under a CC BY 2.0 license.
Daniel Seidel, co-founding and co-leads LiveEO, said that someone has to build applications for end users to make it simple to use and integrate that data into processes. At scale, that is what we are doing.
The investment is not tied to a specific round and includes backing from the European Commission and Investitionsbank Berlin. The previous backers, as well as new backers, are taking part. LiveEO raised 5.25 million in a Series A in 2021, and in that time it tripled revenues with customers in five continents and more than doubled its headcount with more than half of those engineers and data scientists.
Despite the pressures on tech finance, LiveEO is one of a small but growing group of startup companies in Europe. This 19 million round is one of the largest in earth observation tech in Europe. Although LiveEO is focused on enterprise, it will be interesting to see how that develops since it is bringing in a new group of financiers to help it grow.
There is a gap between space tech and enterprise data. Satellites are giving us more data about our world than ever before, covering not just physical objects in the most minute detail, but thermal progressions, how systems are moving and more.
A lot of that data is locked up when it comes to enterprises because of the fact that the satellite industry is very fragmented, so getting it into forms that can be integrated into existing IT is a challenge.
LiveEO describes its infrastructure monitoring suite as powered by satellite imagery. This involves taking the earth observation data produced by satellites and applying artificial intelligence to it to analyze it in the context of what LiveEO's industrial clients are looking for.
The ability for a LiveEO user to directly integrate this data to link up with its own IT management systems for its infrastructure is included. It claims that using satellites to source geographic data for industrial applications means no need to use on-the-ground teams or vehicles.
Satellite data does not require hardware to be installed at the infrastructure itself.
The combination of terabytes of data from multiple sources means it is not just 3D, but "4D", with thermal and other types of details available.
Przywarra said that all of this is a new field. Satellite maps were only used by experts before they were available on the internet. More people are able to use satellite data. It is made accessible and usable by us.
One of the more prominent deep tech investors in Europe is MMC, and they put focus on this area as an opportunity.
"We are excited to lead this round for LiveEO and it reflects MMC's continued focus on emerging datasets and companies that develop artificial intelligence to power core business decisions." LiveEO offers a critical tool that paves the way for sustainable industry automation, and we support the company's vision of using satellite technologies, big data, and artificial intelligence to help companies adapt to the challenges posed by climate change.
This is not a series B.
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