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Investment fund Main Sequence has backed space tech startup Arlula in a $2.2 million raise that will give the company the fuel required to improve access to its Earth Observation (EO) data platform.
Co-founded in 2018 by Sebastian Chaoui and Arran Salerno, an engineer and lawyer respectively who met as students at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Arlula is on a mission to make EO data accessible to all and is building infrastructure and automation tools to make that dream possible at scale.
The Sydney-based company offers customers access to an archive of satellite imagery and has built an application programming interface (API) for developers to search and order data from a range of free and commercial satellites on demand.
Alongside Main Sequence, Black Nova Venture Capital participated in the raise to accelerate Arlula’s momentum and get EO imagery and data into the hands of more industry leaders.
Chaoui, who previously led Australia’s first-ever mission to the International Space Station with his startup Cuberider, says high-res aerial imagery enables governments and organisations to understand a multitude of changes on Earth’s surface, from environmental degradation and wildlife movement to natural disasters and urbanisation.
“Throughout my years working in the space industry, I realised that despite there being thousands of satellites monitoring the Earth’s surface, the data they were capturing was not being effectively operationalised and monetised,” Chaoui says.
“Arlula was founded with a mission to rapidly deliver comprehensive imagery and data, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions faster than ever before.”
Salerno adds that the business’ SaaS model makes Arlula commercially viable.
“We figured by applying a customer-first approach we could build infrastructure to connect both sides of the market through new SAAS technology and a commercially accessible business mode.”
New market expansion is at the top of Arlula’s wishlist following the raise, as well as improvements to its Geostack Terra platform which the company claims gives ‘unprecedented access’ to EO data.
For example, users now have the ability to monitor remote infrastructure like pol rigs, mines and pipelines, reducing the need for physical inspections and saving companies time, money and resources.
“We are right in the middle of the next wave of growth in the global space industry, Arlula is one of the companies leading the way with easier access to space-based data that enables new insights and information that delivers critical commercial outcomes,” Main Sequence partner Martin Duursma says.
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