Synspective Inc., a Japan-based Synthetic Aperture Rada (SAR) satellite data and solutions provider, announced Tuesday that the company has raised $100 million in a Series B funding round.
The latest funding was led by Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. (Tokyo, Japan), Nomura SPARX Investment, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan), and Pavilion Capital Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) among others, Synspective said in a statement.
This puts its total funding value at $200 million since its founding.
Other investors in the round included Mori Trust Co. Ltd, Space Frontier Fund operated by SPARX Innovation for the Future Co., Ltd, JAFCO Group Co., Ltd. and its Investment Limited Partnership, Japan Co-Invest III LP operated by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Investment Co., Ltd, SBI Group, Nikon-SBI Innovation Fund, Shinsei Venture Partners Ⅱ Investment Limited Partnership operated by Shinsei Corporate Investment Group, Japan Post Capital Co.,Ltd., AS aSTART 1 Limited Partnership operated by aSTART Co., Ltd, EEI Fund 4 Investment Limited Partnership operated by Energy & Environment Investment, Inc, Abies Ventures Fund I, L.P. operated by Abies Ventures, Inc, Mizuho Growth Fund No.3 Limited Partnership operated by Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd.
The firm also obtained bank loans from the Shoko Chukin Bank and MUFG Bank, Ltd.
Synspective said it will use the new capital for the development, manufacturing, launch and operation of our SAR satellites, preparation of mass production facilities, development of satellite data solutions, and global expansion with the aim of further business growth.
“We are very grateful for the opportunity to welcome new investors and collaborative partners to expand our business more strongly and globally. Taking the fact that we were able to raise funds beyond the series A funding round as a great expectation and trust from our investors, partners as well as the public, we will further accelerate the expansion of a thirty SAR satellite constellation and enhance our data analysis technology to realize a “learning world” for a sustainable future,” said Dr. Motoyuki Arai, Synspective Founder and Chief Executive Officer.
Synspective develops and operates high-frequency, high-resolution SAR satellites to provide data analytics and solution services. It aims to establish a constellation of 30 SAR satellites around 2026, that enable wide-area, high-frequency earth observation.
“Taking the opportunity of the capital tie-up with Synspective, we will cooperate to create social value through the new services development that deliver peace of mind to our customers, those who are affected by a disaster, as soon as possible by encouraging them to make insurance claims,” said Masachika Nakao, Managing Executive Officer, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.
Meanwhile, Nomura SPARX Investment, Inc. Chief Investment Officer Ichitaro Akita said he believed that Synspective is an excellent startup that has realized the development and launch of its SAR satellites expeditiously since establishing in 2018.
“The company continues to accelerate commercialization and is preparing for further global expansion. We expect Synspective to effectively allocate capital from a long-term perspective and improve the lives of people around the world through data acquisition and effective utilization of small SAR satellites,” he added.
Choun Chee Kong, Pavilion Capital Head Japan Investments, on the other hand said that due to the recent effects of climate change, extreme phenomena in weather, climate, and precipitation have increased all over the world and the frequency and severity of storm and flood damage will continue to increase.
“Synspective will be directly involved in disaster mitigation by developing and operating SAR satellites and providing solution services that utilize SAR data. We expect that the company will become a ‘social information infrastructure’ to support sustainable living in the future,” he added.
Tomotake Kitazawa, Partner & Tatsuya Nagaoka, Principal, JAFCO Group Co., Ltd. said since the firm’s initial investment (April 2018), it has always been supporting Synspective for its commercialization as an investor and a team member.
“In the process, we are convinced that the essential value of Synspective lies in the world-class global team in both satellite development and satellite image analysis, which was formed under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Arai, and its ability to continue offering the world’s first solution services based on their original SAR data. JAFCO will keep supporting Synspective to realize the “learning world” that the company advocates for and create a more sustainable society,” he added.
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