Today, Cambridge, MA-based “Hedron” said it’s closed a $17.8M Series A. The on-orbit communications company (née Analytical Space) has officially rebranded to Hedron. Justin Timberlake from The Social Network would approve.
The cap table: Fidelity-affiliated Fine Structure Ventures led the round, joined by Lockheed Martin Ventures, Republic Labs, Lime Street, and Explorer 1. Existing investors The Engine, Flybridge, Yard Ventures, NKM Capital, and Space Angels also participated.
“Since our founding [in 2016], our goal at Hedron has been to provide low-latency access to space-borne data,” CEO and cofounder Dan Nevius said in a statement. Hedron plans to launch a network of data relay satellites that tackle latency bottlenecks (lag) facing remote-sensing constellations.
Put simply—It takes too long to get valuable imagery down to Earth. “Currently, satellite data is backwards-looking…a representation of what happened in the world two hours ago or yesterday,” Hedron Chief Commercial Officer Katherine Monson told Payload. “We’re moving into what’s happening now.”
- Hedron’s software-defined system is backwards-compatible, meaning it can receive and downlink data from legacy on-orbit satellites.
Hedron’s Series A “allows us to start building the first plane of backbone satellites,” Monson said. While the backbone will consist of owned and operated satellite network nodes, Hedron also plans to eventually offer terminals that can be fitted to others’ spacecraft.
Looking forward: Hedron, which plans to deploy its first demonstration satellite next year, is currently focused on wildfire mitigation and maritime monitoring pilot programs.
