D-Orbit is about to go on a shopping spree. The Italian satellite manufacturer today announced the closing of $53M in new investment led by the Azimut Group—the first tranche of the company’s Series D, which CEO Luca Rossettini expects to fully close in June. In addition, Azimut put aside about $75M to purchase shares from an existing D-Orbit investor.
The new funds aren’t going to sit in D-Orbit’s account for long. In response to rising demand, the capital will be used to spur capacity improvements and an M&A effort to add new capabilities to its catalog.
“We want to add capabilities—additional services to offer to government, defense, and [commercial] satellite operators,” Rossettini told Payload. “Every piece of the business that we are building or that we are already delivering is a piece of the next market in which we plan to enter.
Broadening the scope: Rossettini pointed to a few technologies that could be ripe for acquisition, and said the company would focus on space-to-space, upstream capabilities that have dual-use applications.
In the short term, D-Orbit wants to focus on growing its in-space computing proficiency. Every D-Orbit ION satellite acts as a node in a space-based computing network, giving customers the ability to downlink data more efficiently and offer near-real-time access to space-based data. Rossettini said growing this network, both in terms of satellites and capabilities, will keep D-Orbit competitive.
Down the line, D-Orbit wants to acquire tech to boost its ISAM capabilities—including offering services such as debris removal, in-space recycling, and spacecraft transportation that can reach beyond Earth’s orbit, according to Rossettini.
The lake effect: The funding round won’t be entirely spent on inorganic growth, however. D-Orbit is seeing stronger demand for its satellites than it can currently satisfy, and plans to grow its physical production capacity, as well as its workforce, to keep up.
That means investing in a larger, more autonomous production facility at their current HQ near Italy’s Lake Como, and hiring workers with experience in production, industrial machining, and AI, according to Rossettini. All in the pursuit of winning more customers, and positioning D-Orbit as a better contender for institutional contracts.
