C16 Ventures today Announces its Launch and Second Investment in ICEYE

Founded in 2021, C16 Ventures targets investments between £1 million and £30 million, through Series A to E and pre-IPO funding rounds, and has the ability to draw on the significant expertise within Advent International, one of the world’s largest private equity funds. C16 Ventures will build a portfolio of early stage, cutting-edge space companies.  Areas of focus will include communication, advanced materials & componentry, launch, analytics and services and travel.

Following on from C16 Ventures first investment in D-Orbit, today we announce a second investment in ICEYE. ICEYE owns and operates the world’s largest constellation of SAR (Synthetic-Aperture Radar) satellites, providing near real-time imagery of Earth from space, enabling unprecedented change and detection response, day or night and in any weather. ICEYE will use the new funding to grow its Natural Catastrophe solutions, providing relief agencies and insurers timely information on catastrophic events, including the extent of damage and specific impacted structures. C16 Ventures investment will also support the company in its mission to develop its constellation and technology, reducing the time to access and visiting frequency of its satellites. 

Founded in 2014, in Finland, ICEYE launched Finland’s very first commercial satellite in 2018, a SAR equipped microsatellite enabling radar imaging of the Earth through clouds and in total darkness. In the four years following this, it has successfully launched 16 satellite missions and raised over $304M in funding.

Commenting on the announcement Shonnel Malani, Chairman of Cobham, said: “C16 Ventures is a way for us to support innovation and re-invest in technologies for the future. Over the coming months, C16 Ventures will build a portfolio of further investments, with a particular focus on the UK, USA and mainland Europe.” 

“Our latest investment in ICEYE, demonstrates the sort of cutting-edge company that we will look to support, both with funding and through our wealth of experience within the C16 Ventures team. We look forward to witnessing ICEYE’s continued development.”