SatVu, the UK-based thermal intelligence company that reveals operational activity and infrastructure performance from space has closed a £30m ($40m) funding round bringing its total equity funding to £60m ($80m), as it accelerates from single-satellite demonstration to execution of a multi-satellite constellation.
The round completes with a strategic investment from the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), together with British Business Bank, Space Frontiers Fund II (with SPARX Asset Management Co. Ltd. as the Fund Manager), and Presto Tech Horizons, strengthening SatVu’s institutional backing as it scales toward persistent, sovereign-relevant thermal intelligence, unlocking activity insights previously unavailable from commercial sources.
SatVu has two satellites planned for orbit in 2026 and an additional three initiated under contract, mapping a path to deliver a multi-satellite constellation. While a single satellite can observe any point on Earth, a constellation increases revisit frequency - enabling persistent monitoring of activity and operational readiness, and allowing customers to track patterns of life and operational change throughout the day. HotSat-2 and HotSat-3 are planned for orbit in 2026, while HotSat-4 and HotSat-5 - together with long-lead elements of HotSat-6 - are now under contract, locking in the critical path to constellation delivery.
This funding capitalises SatVu through its next value inflection point, supporting near-term launches and accelerating the build-out required to deliver persistent, scalable thermal intelligence. With the constellation on its critical path, SatVu is transitioning from capability demonstration to commercial scaling - a key credibility signal for sovereign and defence customers.
Camilla Taylor, Chief Financial Officer at SatVu commented on the round: “This funding secures SatVu’s path to execute at scale. We have a clear and credible path to a multi-satellite constellation, accompanied by investors that match the ambition and pace of the business.
“This round provides the ability to move fast into sustained delivery this year - driving a major value inflection as we scale commercial operations and position the business for its next growth phase.”
Anthony Baker, Co Founder and CEO added: “SatVu was founded to give governments access to intelligence they cannot access elsewhere. High-resolution thermal imagery from space reveals activity that is otherwise invisible - day and night - including heat signatures associated with operations inside and around buildings and critical infrastructure.
“This allows governments to assess activity, readiness, and operational change - a critical new data layer that matters for defence, security, and sovereign decision-making.
"This investment enables us to scale a UK-built, sovereign thermal capability into a multi-satellite constellation supporting government customers in the UK and across Allied nations worldwide. From monitoring critical infrastructure and military supply chains, to detecting covert activity and verifying what others cannot, thermal intelligence is essential to modern ISR.
"This round strengthens our ability to deliver at scale, accelerating our strategy and increasing our agility to respond to evolving defence and security requirements - positioning SatVu to be the partner of choice for nations that cannot afford uncertainty in an increasingly contested world.”
Trisha Saxena, Senior Associate at the NATO Innovation Fund said: “SatVu’s thermal intelligence technology can provide governments and businesses across NATO nations with a level of detailed data that was simply not available before.
“We are pleased to support SatVu as it revolutionises the earth observation market, delivering critical insights to the security, finance and commodities sectors to help safeguard defence and economic activity across the Alliance.”
George Mills, Investment Director at British Business Bank, said, “SatVu has created a unique technology at a time of great demand for defence innovation. They have proved the strategic value of their technology so we are pleased to provide the funding that will help them to scale and win further contracts.”
SatVu’s development has been supported by UK government defence innovation programmes, including an ongoing Defence Innovation Loan awarded through the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), now part of UK Defence Innovation.
Luke Pollard, Minister of State for the Ministry of Defence, comments on the raise, “We are committed to strengthening national security by scaling British SMEs and start-ups which help keep the UK's defence industry at the cutting edge of innovation.
“Last year we backed SatVu with a defence innovation loan, which has already helped spark £30 million further private investment through this funding round. Our support for defence firms through UK Defence Innovation is building British sovereign capabilities and driving economic growth across the country.”
This funding enables SatVu to accelerate the delivery of a high-resolution thermal constellation designed for persistence, reliability and global relevance - giving customers a new, trusted layer of insight and positioning the company to define what thermal Earth observation makes possible at scale. The round also includes prior participation from existing investors Molten Ventures (as lead), Adara Ventures, Ridgeline Ventures, NOA, Lockheed Martin, Seraphim Space Fund and Stellar Ventures.As governments and allied institutions place increasing emphasis on resilience, readiness and independent intelligence, SatVu is delivering a sovereign thermal capability designed to operate at scale. By transitioning decisively from demonstration to delivery, the company is establishing a new layer of persistent, trusted insight that strengthens decision-making across defence, security and national infrastructure.
