The investment round was completed by lead investor Edaphon, a Belgium-based impact investor, together with existing investors Findus Ventures, Ananda Impact Ventures, Growth Fund Bavaria 2, Conactivity, Apex Ventures, and Spacetec Capital. Industry experts Ingo Baumann and Clemens Kaiser also participated. Additional funds were raised through contracts and grants from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Free State of Bavaria. With the new funds, Ororatech plans to launch its second thermal imaging camera into space in May 2023 and develop further solutions for adapting to and combating climate change.
Thomas Grübler, CEO of Ororatech, explains:
“I am very proud of what we have achieved within a year – we have launched our first camera into space, which has exceeded even our own expectations and is unique worldwide. With the additional funding, we will bring our second camera into orbit and accelerate our expansion strategy into further application areas. Ororatech’s rapid growth is also recognized by investors, and I am therefore very pleased to welcome our new investor Edaphon on board. Together, we will continue to advance our goal of measuring the Earth’s temperature every 30 minutes to provide greater transparency and enable better decisions in combating climate change.”
“Impressed by Ororatech’s product portfolio”
Ororatech was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich and develops a global, satellite-based early warning system for wildfires. With its Wildfire Intelligence Solution, the startup uses available Earth observation data to detect and monitor wildfires. According to the company, the solution already detects over 100,000 fires daily and has protected more than 160 million hectares of forest across six continents.
Ororatech is also working on its own satellite constellation to further improve data availability. To this end, the Munich-based startup launched its first uncooled thermal infrared sensor into space this year, with more to follow. From 2024, Ororatech wants to be able to capture every point on Earth every 12 hours with its constellation, and from 2026 approximately every 30 minutes.
Joost Van Laer, investment manager at Edaphon, comments:
“We support companies that have the potential to positively impact the environment on a large scale. We were impressed by Ororatech’s product portfolio, the strengths of the complementary team, and its ambition to continue developing pioneering solutions in the coming years.”
