Open Cosmos, a European satellite maker headquartered in Britain, has raised $346 million (300 million euros) in funding led by Lightrock and ET F Partners, with participation from Institut Català de Finances, Entrepreneurs First, and two international pension funds. The 11-year-old company now holds a valuation of about $2 billion and has raised over $390 million total. This deal follows the Exploration Company's $450 million round, signaling a shift in European space investment momentum. Global space tech startup funding has reached $16.5 billion this year, nearly doubling last year's total, with European startups seeing even faster growth.

Founder and CEO Rafel Jorda Siquier said the climate crisis drives demand for Open Cosmos's Earth-observation data, which provided critical flood alerts in Valencia, Spain (2024) and wildfire data in Greece. The company booked approximately $175 million in contracts last year from governments and businesses. Open Cosmos plans to expand satellite manufacturing and accelerate satellite data services, including orbital connectivity for broadband and IoT, putting it in more direct competition with SpaceX. The company aims to reduce data delivery from hours to minutes using AI-powered in-space processing.

Despite momentum, Jorda Siquier identifies "launch scarcity" as the primary bottleneck, as satellite makers remain dependent on SpaceX and other launch providers. European leaders have long worried about dependence on Elon Musk's rocket company and falling behind the U.S. in space funding and science.