Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit invests $30M in Polish nanotech SatRevolution

SatRevolution, a Polish developer and manufacturer of nanosatellite technologies, has secured a $30 million Series B round from Virgin Orbit, pushing its valuation to approximately $150 million. The deal is expected to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2022, Virgin Orbit announces.

• Founded in 2016 by Damian Fijalkowski and Grzegorz Zwolinski, SatRevolution is a Poland-based NewSpace company. It designs, manufactures, and places nanosatellites in orbits around the Earth to collect optical data. SatRev’s Earth-observation enables continuous monitoring of the environment or agriculture, helps respond to crises, and inspects the damage from natural disasters.
• The transaction follows a strategic partnership established by SatRev and Virgin Orbit in June this year. Both companies are planning to develop business applications for the use of nanosatellites. Earlier, SatRevolution has already launched two satellites with Virgin Orbit. And two more ones are awaiting the launch next month.
• Since 2016, SatRevolution has raised a total of $43 million in funding, CrunchBase states.
• Virgin Orbit is a small satellite launch service provider within Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. It was founded in 2017, starting commercial service in 2021. Virgin Orbit has already delivered commercial, civil, national security, and international satellites into orbit.
• Apart from Virgin Orbit, SatRevolution has worked with SkyWatch, Spiral Blue, Neumann Space, SkyServe, UP42, and AIKO. SatRevolution’s current contracts exceed $50 million.
• The company plans to spend the funds on entering the global market, as well as the further development of relationships with existing and new customers.

“With our continued collaboration, Virgin Orbit and SatRev will drive capabilities into new markets, enabling applications for Earth observation and more. Working together, we will continue Virgin Orbit’s mission of opening space for good,” Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, comments.