85 million euros is the amount of the fundraising announced this Tuesday, February 27 by Unseenlabs. This is a record in France for a company operating in the “New Space” sector. This Rennes company deploys a maritime surveillance service from space. Unseenlabs operates it from its own fleet of nanosatellites which carry the electromagnetic intelligence payload that the Rennes company has developed. This proprietary technology makes it possible to capture the waves emitted by a ship to geolocate them ultra-precisely and in near real time.
Accelerate growth
Since its creation in 2015, the company has raised 120 million euros in financing. In April 2021, Unseenlabs had already raised 20 million euros. This new operation is carried out with historical investors – 360 Capital, Omnes, Bpifrance, Breizh Up and S2G Ventures – but also Supernova Invest, Isalt and Unexo who are participating in the round.
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“The year 2023 marked a turning point for Unseenlabs, consolidating the relevance of our business model and the attractiveness of our offer on the market. This financing will allow us to accelerate our growth, in particular by developing new solutions and strengthening our presence in the private sector.“, explain Clément and Jonathan Galic, co-founders of the company, who claim to have “the means of their ambitions“. Profitable, the company achieved a turnover of 15 million euros as well as prospects of 100 million euros are mentioned by 2028.
10 new satellites
By relying on this new money, the company intends to complete its fleet of satellites, which currently numbers 11. The first was launched in 2019. Ten new orbits are planned before the end of 2025. Two new launches are scheduled in March, those of BRO12 and BRO 13, from the SpaceX launcher in California, as for the two previous ones last November. This will allow Unseenlabs “to improve the performance of the constellation, in particular the delivery time of data to clients“, it is explained.
Today, Unseenlabs is aimed in particular at government entities, NGOs and insurers with a view to protecting marine environments and combating illicit activities taking place from the sea. On the private side, it intends to strengthen itself in the sectors of offshore energy, shipowners or economic intelligence. Among its clients, the vast majority of which are exports, we note the French Marine Nationale, Xerra Earth Observation Institute which created a research institute focused on Earth observation data in New Zealand, the Japanese Marubeni Corp and the Canadian MDA. The deeptech company plans to strengthen its international presence, particularly in the American and Asian markets.
Based in Rennes, where it took new premises last May, Unseenlabs employs 80 employees today, compared to 50 at the start of 2023. Around fifty recruitments are already planned for 2024.
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