Swedish private equity giant EQT announced that the European Union’s €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund has completed its first investment by co-leading ICEYE’s Series F funding.
ICEYE is a leading European provider of sovereign intelligence from space, founded in Finland in 2014.
The investment forms part of ICEYE’s recently announced €1 billion financing round, which includes a €450 million primary investment at a valuation exceeding €10 billion.
ICEYE has significant operations in Finland, Poland, Spain and Greece, and has recently expanded further with the establishment of new European entities in Germany and Portugal.
The Finland-based firm owns and operates one of the world’s largest and most advanced synthetic aperture radar satellite constellations and currently delivers end-to-end sovereign systems for seven European governments.
In May, the European Union selected EQT to run its €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund.
The fund will provide growth capital to firms in deep-tech sectors including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, dual use technologies, clean energy, space technology, biotech and medical innovation.
ICEYE recently delivered a fully operational sovereign satellite capability to Poland less than twelve months after contract signing, setting a new benchmark for deployment speed.
Victor Englesson, Partner at EQT and Co-Head of the Scaleup Europe Fund, said: “Our first investment reflects exactly what the Scaleup Europe Fund was created to support: ambitious European founders building globally competitive companies in strategically important technologies.
“ICEYE has already established itself as a category leader, and we’re excited to partner with Rafał and the team as they continue scaling from Europe to the world.”
Rafał Modrzewski, Co-founder & CEO, ICEYE, said: “Europe has the talent, technology and ambition to build globally leading companies in strategically important industries. Our own journey reflects that.
“My co-founder Pekka Laurila and I met as students on an Erasmus exchange, received our first funding through Horizon 2020, and we are grateful for the European Commission’s role in initiating the Scaleup Europe Fund.
“We are pleased to welcome EQT as a long-term partner through the fund, as we continue to expand our sovereign intelligence capabilities from Europe for customers across Europe and globally.”