HawkEye 360 beams in $70m

HawkEye 360, a US-based radio-frequency data satellite developer based on Virginia Tech research, received $70m on Tuesday in a series B round that included commercialisation firm Allied Minds.
Aerospace manufacturer Airbus and mapping software developer Esri also took part, as did Razor’s Edge Ventures, Shield Capital Partners and undisclosed additional investors.
HawkEye 360 is developing satellites designed to collect and analyse information using radio frequency (RF) signals and geospatial technology. It has also built an RF signal mapping product, RFGeo, to identify and geolocate radio channels and emergency distress beacons, and to track logistics.
Having launched its first cluster of three satellites in 2018, the company will put the series B proceeds toward developing and launching four additional clusters, with the second expected to launch early next year.
HawkEye 360 closed an series A-3 round at $14.9m in September 2018 with a $5.3m extension led by defence systems producer Raytheon and backed by Allied Minds and Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Sumitomo, as well as Space Angels, Razor’s Edge Ventures and Shield Capital.
Allied Minds, Razor’s Edge and Shield Capital also contributed to the round’s $9.6m first tranche the month before, alongside an undisclosed aerospace and defence firm. Razor’s Edge led an $11m series A round for the company in 2016 that included Allied Minds and an unnamed member of the defence industry that could have been Raytheon.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.