Climate tech firm Hydrosat has revealed securing $20 million in fresh funding. This comprises a $15 million Series A round, and more than $5 million in non-dilutive funding, aimed at supporting the expansion and advancement of its satellite constellation and analytics capabilities for measuring water stress and climate impact.
Statkraft Ventures led the investment round, with Blue Bear Capital and Hartree Partners also participating. These three firms are all climate tech-focused, and other investors included OTB Ventures, Freeflow Ventures, Cultivation Capital, Techstars, Santa Barbara Venture Partners, Expon Capital, and Hemisphere Ventures.
Pieter Fossel, the CEO and Co-Founder of Hydrosat, emphasized the urgency of addressing climate change, stating that it is the most critical challenge facing humanity. He also underscored the growing societal demand for data-driven insights into water stress and climate. Fossel highlighted the significant market need for space-based analytics, stating, “Hydrosat is tackling this problem head-on with satellite data.”
Climate change has hastened moisture stress in recent years, causing significant disruptions to the world’s food supply. Extreme weather events, such as megadroughts, wildfires, storms, and flooding, pose a threat to both communities and the economy. However, effectively monitoring these hazards using thermal infrared data has been hindered by infrequent and coarse image resolution. Hydrosat is the sole provider of continuous thermal monitoring capability, offering frequent and high-resolution data to track water stress events as they happen. The real-time imagery data provides crucial insights for government agencies, agribusinesses, insurance companies, and emergency response teams to respond promptly.
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Statkraft Ventures, a company that has recently broadened its investment focus to include climate tech, has announced Hydrosat as its first investment in this field. The rise in surface temperatures and water scarcity has become a significant issue. By combining high-resolution thermal imagery with advanced analytics, Hydrosat will provide substantial improvements to decision-making and insights for those in charge. The company’s technology offers the optimization of irrigation, fertilizer usage, wildfire and drought prediction, water resource management, and urban heat mapping capabilities. These functions are crucial for ensuring the safety and well-being of communities worldwide. Hydrosat’s clients will be able to manage and safeguard their resources more effectively, stated Alexander Kueppers, the Managing Director of Statkraft Ventures.
“Continuous thermal infrared at a practical resolution, available at a reasonable cost, is one of the most sought-after goals for efficient land management, responsible agricultural development, and precision climate analytics. As Hydrosat works toward a better-informed, data-driven future, Blue Bear Capital is thrilled to support the Series A round,” stated Vaughn Blake, Partner at Blue Bear Capital.
With the latest funding round, Hydrosat’s total funding to date has surpassed $35 million. Since its initial funding announcement in 2021, the company has achieved continuous growth and established industry-leading temperature data sets. Recently, Hydrosat secured a license agreement with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to operate a private remote sensing space system. Additionally, the company signed a $1.2 million contract through AFWERX, The United States Air Force’s innovation arm, to tailor its surface temperature data to the mission needs of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC).
Hydrosat conducted a pilot program for its proprietary Crop Yield Forecast, exclusive to a select group of users consisting of Fortune 500 agriculture and food processing companies in the United States and Europe. The program successfully demonstrated the benefits of infrared imagery and machine learning, outperforming the accuracy rates of commercial yield forecasts. The results showed how these technologies can provide an advantage in agricultural forecasting.
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About Hydrosat
Hydrosat, based in the United States, is a geospatial data analytics company that leverages thermal infrared imagery to offer unparalleled insights to commercial and government clients. The company’s high-resolution satellite thermal imagery, captured on a daily basis, provides a distinct perspective of the Earth. Hydrosat’s sophisticated analytics provide precise crop yield forecasts and advanced irrigation tools, serving financial and agribusiness clients worldwide.
About Statkraft
Established in 2015, Statkraft Ventures aims to discover and collaborate with innovative entrepreneurs, serving as their preferred partner. While we are committed to working alongside you every step of the way, we recognize and respect your role as the entrepreneur. We firmly believe that start-ups can achieve the most rapid growth when they have the freedom to operate independently. As an investor, Statkraft is Europe’s largest renewable energy producer, and our team is deeply committed to sustainability and green initiatives. With a thorough understanding of energy markets, our experienced professionals have a proven track record in venture capital, entrepreneurship, company building, and M&A. We are here to support you as you scale your business.
About Blue Bear Capital
Blue Bear Capital is a growth equity and venture capital firm that focuses on advancing digital technologies in energy, infrastructure, and climate industries worth billions of dollars. The team comprises seasoned experts from leading energy private equity firms and technology startups, with a commitment to hastening innovation in the energy transition. Blue Bear’s portfolio includes operational AI, IoT, and cybersecurity technologies used by enterprise clients worldwide to enhance safety, efficiency, economics, and environmental sustainability in the world’s most crucial industries.
