FOSSA, a Spanish company specializing in picosatellites, has recently obtained 6.3 million euros ($6.8 million) in a Series A funding round. This financing, co-led by Portuguese investor Indico Capital Partners and the venture arm of Japanese aerospace component maker Nabtesco, will facilitate the development of approximately 20 larger cubesats. These new satellites will enable FOSSA to offer full commercial connectivity services for remote monitoring and tracking devices.
Julián Fernández, the co-founder and CEO of FOSSA, stated that the company has raised nearly 10 million euros thus far, including government grants. FOSSA has taken a unique approach by building its satellites in-house. Since 2022, they have deployed 17 picosatellites into sun-synchronous orbit, primarily for demonstrating basic connectivity using the Long-Range radio (LoRa) protocol.
Despite their small size, these picosatellites have already proven their worth to companies like Microsoft, generating revenues of approximately half a million euros this year alone. FOSSA has achieved this through successful proof of concept work with several organizations.
While most of FOSSA’s deployed picosatellites have completed their orbital missions and de-orbited, a recent batch of four satellites was retired earlier than planned. This setback, however, does not deter the company’s ambition to expand its commercial connectivity services. With the new funding in place, FOSSA is well-positioned to establish itself as a key player in the field of satellite-based IoT connectivity.