Space-based radio frequency (RF) data collection and analysis firm HawkEye 360 closed $145 million in new funding. The Series D found was led by Insight Partners and Seraphim Space, with additional funding coming from the Middle East and several other new investors.
“HawkEye 360 is pleased to be welcoming phenomenal new partners to our world class investment family, all of whom share our vision of using revolutionary commercial RF-monitoring capabilities to produce positive impacts for humanity and the environment,” said HawkEye 360 CEO John Serafini. “As a new, well-backed space data and analytics company with a unique dual-use technology, we are ideally situated not only to create great value for the defense, intelligence and national security communities, but also to change the paradigm for organizations confronting complex challenges like illegal fishing, poaching, maritime smuggling and environmental degradation.”
The Strategic Development Fund (SDF), the investment arm of UAE’s Tawazun Holding participated along with new investors Jacobs, Gula Tech Adventures, 116 Street Ventures, and New North Ventures. Existing investors Advance, Razor’s Edge, NightDragon, SVB Capital, Shield Capital, Adage Capital, and others also contributed to the round. HawkEye 360 has raised a total of $302 million to date.
“HawkEye 360 stands out as the clear leader in commercial RF data and analytics,” said Nick Sinai, Managing Director at Insight Partners. “We are excited to partner with HawkEye 360 as the company continues to scale up and to expand its geospatial intelligence technology capabilities for both government and commercial markets.” Nick Sinai will join HawkEye 360’s board.
The RF survey company will use its latest round of funding to expand its satellite constellation and other infrastructure to accelerate the growth of the company’s services in the humanitarian, environmental, commercial, and national security sectors. Investors believe the RF survey and analysis market will grow to billions of dollars over the next years.
Usage of radios and the RF spectrum is key across numerous industries for things such as communications, navigation, and security. HawkEye’s constellation detects, characterizes, and precisely locates these signals across a broad range of devices, including marine radios, push-to-talk radios, maritime and land-based radar systems, L-band satellite devices, and emergency beacons.
HawkEye 360 currently has 9 satellites in orbit, operating in clusters of 3 that provide precision data to locate RF emitters on the planet’s surface. Processing and analyzing RF signals provides actionable insights and knowledge of operations across many verticals. Adding more satellites will enable faster revisit rates and more signal collection while the company will enhance analytics to address a range of needs for customers.
