SatVu, a thermal intelligence startup, has raised £30 million in funding from NATO Innovation Fund, together with British Business Bank, SPARX Space Frontiers Fund and Presto Tech Horizons. SatVu uses satellites with thermal imagery technology to provide intelligence that can inform decision making across defence and security. This funding will support near-term launches and accelerate the build-out required to deliver persistent, scalable thermal intelligence.
Thermal imagery from SatVu’s satellites reveals activity that is otherwise invisible, including heat signatures associated with operations inside and around buildings and critical infrastructure. This enables governments to assess activity, readiness and operational change across defence, security and infrastructure use cases. A constellation increases revisit frequency, allowing customers to track patterns of life and operational change throughout the day.
Two satellites are planned for orbit in 2026, with an additional three initiated under contract. HotSat-2 and HotSat-3 are planned for orbit in 2026, while HotSat-4 and HotSat-5, together with long-lead elements of HotSat-6, are under contract to support constellation delivery.
SatVu was founded to give governments access to intelligence they cannot access elsewhere. High-resolution thermal imagery from space reveals activity that is otherwise invisible - day and night - including heat signatures associated with operations inside and around buildings and critical infrastructure. This allows governments to assess activity, readiness, and operational change - a critical new data layer that matters for defence, security, and sovereign decision-making. This investment enables us to scale a UK-built, sovereign thermal capability into a multi-satellite constellation supporting government customers in the UK and across Allied nations worldwide. From monitoring critical infrastructure and military supply chains, to detecting covert activity and verifying what others cannot, thermal intelligence is essential to modern ISR. This round strengthens our ability to deliver at scale, accelerating our strategy and increasing our agility to respond to evolving defence and security requirements - positioning SatVu to be the partner of choice for nations that cannot afford uncertainty in an increasingly contested world.
Anthony Baker, Co-founder & CEO
This funding secures SatVu’s path to execute at scale. We have a clear and credible path to a multi-satellite constellation, accompanied by investors that match the ambition and pace of the business. This round provides the ability to move fast into sustained delivery this year - driving a major value inflection as we scale commercial operations and position the business for its next growth phase.
Camilla Taylor, CFO
SatVu’s thermal intelligence technology can provide governments and businesses across NATO nations with a level of detailed data that was simply not available before. We are pleased to support SatVu as it revolutionises the earth observation market, delivering critical insights to the security, finance and commodities sectors to help safeguard defence and economic activity across the Alliance.
Trisha Saxena, Investor at NATO Innovation Fund
SatVu has created a unique technology at a time of great demand for defence innovation. They have proved the strategic value of their technology so we are pleased to provide the funding that will help them to scale and win further contracts.
George Mills, Investor at British Business Bank
