Space Camp adds new partner with NSSIF and welcomes space companies from around the globe
Seraphim Space Camp today reveals the start-ups that are participating in Mission 7 of their accelerator, the UK’s first dedicated accelerator for global start-ups in the SpaceTech industry. Featuring seven new start-ups, the latest cohort has attracted founders from all over the world who hope to take their start-up to the next level.
Launched by Seraphim Capital in 2018, Seraphim Space Camp is a twelve-week programme, culminating in an Investor Day on 28th May. The accelerator is once again being run remotely, with over 600 hours of content being delivered.
Space Camp has also welcomed new sponsors for this cohort, including the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), which will be providing engagement sessions for the current cohort, and has recently announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help run a four-week space accelerator. It has also continued its relationship with key corporate parties and industry bodies including, Airbus, DSTL, Dentons, SES, Cyient, the UK Space Agency, Satellite Applications Catapult, enabling the participating start-ups to engage with industry leaders and forge partnerships and contacts that have a real impact for them.
The previous six cohorts (featuring a total of 42 companies) have collectively raised over $67 million in private investment since completing the programme. They have also gone on to win prestigious awards leading industry events such as SmallSat Symposium 2020 and Paris Space Week.
Mission 7’s cohort includes companies who are working in space to revolutionise Space Infrastructure and also those utilising space data to address earth bound challenges from connectivity to climate and security. Technologies include, AI, IoT, Propulsion, Remote Sensing, and Big Data. It also includes companies from the US, UK, India and Europe, with founders previously working at NASA and other prominent space agencies. The cohort members are:
For the full overview of each company please see below.
Mission 7 will include online sessions with experts from the corporate partners, along with a series of workshops and one-to-one mentoring sessions from SpaceTech professionals, advisors, and investors, and pitch practice sessions. The virtual programme has also attracted some of the world’s leading SpaceTech entrepreneurs, to deliver Keynotes.
Rob Desborough, Partner at Seraphim Space Fund and CEO of Space Camp, said: “Over the last year we have seen space tech start-ups begin to enter the next phase of growth, with some of the first unicorn space companies outside of SpaceX appearing. We firmly believe that the companies in this cohort have the potential to reach those heights, helping solve Earth-based problems with space technology. With our virtual format we have once again been able to attract talent from all corners of the planet, allowing us to find the next generation of category leaders.”
Mission 7 Cohort Overview
114AI – Data itself is the biggest bottleneck in the 100 billion dollar digital transformation market. The complexity of the data is a huge pain point in the digital transformation journey. By bringing cutting edge innovation into this pipeline, 114ai’s platform will enable enterprises to minimise friction in unlocking the value of big data solutions, democratising data fusion for non-coders. 114ai is already engaged with some of the world’s largest organisations within defence and Space to address this problem.
BirdsEyeView – Natural disasters are increasing in both frequency and severity as a result of climate change. This is resulting in billions worth of crop damage every year. BirdsEyeView is addressing the 75% of agricultural risks that remain uninsured. By harnessing satellite imagery, big-data, and advanced climate-modelling, we provide agribusinesses globally with transparent and uncomplicated weather-risk insurance. Our advanced data collection techniques, combined with innovative models of parametric insurance, enables BirdsEyeView to address this gap. We guarantee financial security for farmers, and ensure that the increasing pressure on global food supplies are met. With early funding received from the European Space Agency the company is piloting with global insurance firms.
CelestialEye – Celestial Eye moves towards global ubiquitous accurate weather forecast. We will do this using our world-class, first of its kind, space sensor in a miniature platform that can move the needle towards a perfect weather forecast globally. With weather variability playing an increasingly vital role across multiple industries such as energy, finance and agriculture, there’s a growing critical demand for timely and accurate weather insights. We are spinning out of RAL space – a world-leading Earth Observation research institute – to disrupt this multi-billion dollar market.
Cosmic Shielding Corporation – Space weather has been a key challenge to Space Infrastructure from satellites to human exploration. With its state-of-the-art composite materials and forecasting systems, CSC can mitigate billions in yearly Space radiation damage and further enable safe passage for human beings in space. Based on decades of mission proven research from NASA and ESA, CSC is bringing these technologies to the commercial space.
G-Space – G-SPACE is optimizing in-space manufacturing from Earth. Unique materials with unrivalled properties, such as fiber optics, are being created in space in a race to conquer a trillion-dollar market. Space manufacturing relies currently on trial-and-error experimentation, making it expensive, risky and inflexible. Led by a founder with 15+ years of experience at NASA, G-SPACE’s disruptive platform combines a state-of-the-art experimentation technique with world-leading Machine Learning software that can reduce costs, increase reliability and unlock new materials for a new age.
NewOrbit – NewOrbit enables satellites to effectively operate at extremely low altitudes – 3 times lower than conventional LEO satellites bringing significantly better resolution and signal for the same size. This will unlock new possibilities in a collective $76B market of Earth Observation, Satellite Internet and Weather. The founding team brings MIT experience; with their breakthrough atmosphere breathing propulsion technology, they will enable satellites to efficiently sustain very low altitudes, improve performance, and lower costs for New Space.
Sateliot – Sateliot provides Mobile operators full coverage IoT connectivity in 5G, enabling a roaming service for their IoT customers via an LEO constellation of Nanosatellites working as cell towers from space. With 150 years of telecomms heritage, Sateliot launched their first satellite in March this year and will provide a service for their first 5G IoT customers in 2022. This is the first step to unlocking the IoT revolution for the 90% of the world that doesn’t currently have 5G IoT connectivity without updating any hardware.
