The NATO Innovation Fund has participated in a £30 million funding round for UK-based SatVu, bringing the company’s total equity funding to £60 million. The round also involved the British Business Bank, Space Frontiers Fund II managed by SPARX Asset Management, Presto Tech Horizons, and existing investors including Molten Ventures, Adara Ventures, Ridgeline Ventures, NOA, Lockheed Martin, Seraphim Space Fund, and Stellar Ventures. This funding will support the development of SatVu’s thermal imaging satellite constellation and expand its commercial and sovereign capabilities.
Founded by Anthony Baker and Tobias Reinicke in London, SatVu is transitioning from a single-satellite demonstration to a multi-satellite network designed for continuous monitoring. Two satellites, HotSat-2 and HotSat-3, are slated for launch in 2026, with HotSat-4, HotSat-5, and elements of HotSat-6 already under contract. While a single satellite can image any location on Earth, a constellation enables higher revisit rates, allowing continuous monitoring of infrastructure, operational readiness, and patterns of life throughout the day. This transition marks a key milestone for the company, signaling credibility and long-term commitment to sovereign and defence clients.
SatVu provides high-resolution thermal imagery at 3.5-meter resolution, capturing activity both day and night. Its technology detects operational changes inside and around buildings, strategic sites, and contested environments, offering governments a unique layer of “Activity Intelligence.” This capability supports defence, security, and critical infrastructure missions where trusted, independent insight is essential.
Beyond defence applications, SatVu’s thermal data can track industrial and environmental activity at commercial scale, including blast furnace output, cement production, data center performance, flaring in oil and gas operations, and patterns in power generation such as solar farms. Supported by UK defence innovation programs, including a Defence Innovation Loan, SatVu is building a sovereign thermal capability to meet growing demands for resilience, readiness, and independent intelligence.
Camilla Taylor, CFO of SatVu, highlighted that the funding enables the company to execute at scale and accelerate the deployment of a multi-satellite constellation. CEO Anthony Baker emphasized that SatVu was founded to provide governments with high-resolution thermal intelligence that is otherwise inaccessible, revealing heat signatures around critical infrastructure to assess activity and operational change.
Trisha Saxena of the NATO Innovation Fund noted that SatVu’s technology delivers previously unavailable detailed data to governments and businesses across NATO nations, supporting defence, finance, and commodities sectors. George Mills from the British Business Bank praised the company’s strategic value and potential to scale, while UK Minister of State Luke Pollard highlighted the government’s support for defence innovation, noting that backing companies like SatVu strengthens national security and builds sovereign capabilities while driving economic growth.
