OKAPI:Orbits Secures Nearly $15 Million to Advance Space Traffic Management Technologies
German space traffic management startup Okapi:Orbits, founded in 2018, has successfully raised $14.75 million in a seed funding round.
The new investment, announced on April 24th, will enable Okapi to expand its product portfolio, grow its international team, and enhance its proprietary data sets, according to Kristina Nikolaus, co-founder and CEO of Okapi. These advancements will facilitate faster innovation and improve responsiveness to the evolving market needs.
VenTech, a European early-stage venture capital firm, led the latest funding round for Okapi, with participants including Matterwave Ventures, Amadeus, APEX Technology Fund, and Christian Miele, former chairman of the German Start-up Association.
Since the release of its first space traffic management product in 2020, over 7,000 satellites have utilized Okapi:Astrolabe. The spinoff of the Technical University of Braunschweig now provides collision-avoidance and space-situational-awareness tools to customers across Europe, the United States, and Asia. One of Okapi's specialties is supporting customers through launch and earth operations, said Nikolaus.
In March, Okapi introduced a tool designed to optimize missions prior to launch and verify compliance with various regulations. Hungary’s first commercial low-Earth orbit constellation was among the first customers for this new product, Okapi:Soteria.
Okapi's artificial intelligence-based Space Traffic Management platforms are engineered to predict, detect, and mitigate risks such as moving space objects, frequency interference, and environmental impacts. "As interest in space increases, satellite operators require a comprehensive space-asset catalogue, reliable collision-risk predictions, predictable space mission unit economics, and a robust collaboration tool vetted by the industry," noted Ventech principal Nicolas Barthalon in a statement. "We are excited to support OKAPI:Orbits in establishing itself as a cornerstone for safe and sustainable space missions, alongside other new and existing investors."
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OKAPI:Orbits secures €13M to build the future of space traffic management