For years, companies in the space data sector have highlighted the private sector's need for their offerings, yet government entities have historically been the primary adopters. However, with artificial intelligence now a paramount concern for businesses, a Spanish startup is positioning itself to become the definitive provider of "ground truth" data for enterprise clients.
Xoople is actively developing a satellite constellation specifically designed to gather highly precise data, optimized for deep learning models. Founded in 2019, the startup has dedicated the period since its inception to refining its technological infrastructure, utilizing data from government spacecraft and establishing integrations with leading cloud providers.
Fabrizio Pirondini, CEO and co-founder, informed TechCrunch that Xoople has successfully closed a $130 million Series B funding round, led by Nazca Capital. Additional investors participating in this round include MCH Private Equity, CDTI (a technology development fund backed by the Spanish government), Buenavista Equity Partners, and Endeavor Catalyst.
The startup also recently announced a significant agreement with U.S. space and defense contractor L3Harris Technologies. This partnership will see L3Harris commence building sensors for Xoople's spacecraft, which are engineered to collect, as Pirondini stated to TechCrunch, "a stream of data that is going to be two orders of magnitude better than existing monitoring systems."
L3Harris is renowned for constructing some of the most advanced commercial imaging systems currently in orbit. Despite this, Pirondini remained tight-lipped regarding specific details about Xoople's satellites, including the number planned for deployment, only confirming that the sensors would gather optical data. Given the substantial cost associated with such sophisticated systems, the company continues its fundraising efforts to finance its comprehensive development.
Pirondini declined to disclose the firm's valuation following the latest funding round, though he did remark that "we are in unicorn territory." In total, the company has now raised $225 million.
Xoople's emphasis on data quality serves as a crucial differentiator. Nevertheless, the company is entering a competitive landscape already populated by several established players, such as Vantor, Planet, BlackSky, and Europe's Airbus, all of whom operate satellites in orbit and are actively developing AI-focused datasets.
What sets Xoople apart is its strategic focus on enterprise platforms.
"Our business model is all about embedding our data and our solutions directly to the ecosystem of those so that they can provide those services directly to their customers," Pirondini explained.
Pirondini outlined various potential applications, ranging from government agencies monitoring transportation networks and assessing natural disaster damage, to agribusiness tracking crop health, and large corporations overseeing infrastructure projects or supply chains.
Aravind Ravichandran, CEO of Earth observation sector consultancy TerraWatch Space, told TechCrunch that Xoople’s proactive approach to establishing its distribution strategy before having its own data supply is particularly noteworthy. Currently, Xoople leverages publicly available data, such as that collected by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 spacecraft.
"They laid the distribution pipes before having their own data supply — embedding into Microsoft and Esri, the two platforms where enterprise, government and most GIS buyers already live, but neither has proprietary EO data," Ravichandran observed. He added, "Google’s head start on geospatial AI models is the benchmark they’ll be measured against." While the precise balance Xoople will strike between offering raw data and developing its own analytical tools remains to be seen, Pirondini's ambition is to construct "Earth’s System of Record," a vision he anticipates will eventually encompass the creation of a true AI world model in collaboration with partners.
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