In a Series C round, Japanese radar imaging startup Synspective has secured 7 billion yen ($44 million) to support the growth of its constellation of satellites.
The Tokyo-based business said on June 20 that it had raised money through investment limited partnerships run by JAFCO Group Co., Ltd. and Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd., as well as a Series C round led by Japan Growth Capital Investment Corporation, managed by Nomura SPARX Investment, Inc. In the round, a number of additional institutional and private investors took part.
The investment will be used by Synspective, which has already launched four synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites, to increase satellite production, create satellite data solutions, and grow its customer base internationally.
The chief executive of Synspective, Motoyuki Arai, stated in a statement announcing the funding, “This financing will accelerate our global business expansion, which we aim to fully realize by the end of this year with the start of mass production at our plant and the enhancement of our satellite constellation.”
Synspective reports that it has raised 8.3 billion yen in loans and 28.1 billion yen in capital with this fresh round. During a Series B financing in March 2022, the firm raised 11.9 billion yen ($100 million at the time).
A burgeoning market for SAR images has investors saying they see Synspective as a potential business. “The supply of SAR satellite data is currently limited amidst increasing worldwide demand, and experts expect this field to grow dramatically,” said Kazumasa Watanabe, CEO and representative director of aSTART, one of the round’s investors. “Synspective has already successfully launched and operated four SAR satellites and is now entering the phase of building a large constellation.”
Shinji Naito, representative director, chairman, and co-chief executive of Nomura SPARX Investment, Inc., stated, “We consider that society’s demands for the data and solutions provided by Synspective have increased in various fields, such as social infrastructure management, disaster prevention and mitigation, and security, since our initial investment in 2022.” “We expect that Synspective will continue to efficiently allocate capital to improve the lives of people around the world through data acquisition and utilization of small SAR satellites.”
Two days after Synspective and Rocket Lab inked a deal for ten Electron launches between 2025 and 2027, the funding announcement was made. Under a prior contract, the business has launched all four of its satellites on Electron so far, and two more Electron missions are scheduled for later this year.
