Earth observation data is easy to promote but difficult to turn into profit. Satellites take images, analysts review them, and governments or big companies pay after long procurement processes. Even though the commercial market has grown, it still has not reached its full potential.
Xoople, founded in 2019 by Fabrizio Pirondini and Álvaro Coronado Cid, thinks the market is finally ready and has raised $130 million to back this belief. The Madrid-based startup finished a Series B funding round on Monday, led by Nazca Capital, with support from MCH Private Equity, CDTI, Buenavista Equity Partners, and Endeavor Catalyst.
Xoople has now raised a total of $225 million, making it the best-funded company in what it calls the Earth data infrastructure category.
Building “Earth’s system of record”
Xoople’s strategy is built on a clear prediction about where AI is headed. As AI moves from just analysing data to making decisions on its own, the need for reliable, real-time ground-truth data is expected to grow quickly (HPCwire).
This data will help with things like supply chain management, infrastructure monitoring, agricultural forecasting, and disaster response. Most current Earth observation data is made available for people to analyse, with images taken at intervals and delivered slowly.
Over the last seven years, Xoople has created a continuous, AI-ready data layer designed for machine learning, rather than adapting older satellite-image workflows.
“We are building the system of record for the physical world in the AI era with Xoople. After seven years developing our system in stealth, we are incredibly excited to begin commercialisation in Q2 and start scaling up that capability in the market,” says Pirondini.
Rather than starting with hardware, Xoople first connected its platform to Microsoft and Esri, the main systems used by enterprise, government, and GIS customers. While developing its product, the company used data from government satellites.
Some early customers, including Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, are already using the platform for supply chain monitoring, infrastructure tracking, and climate risk modelling.
Unlike Vantor, Planet Labs, BlackSky, Airbus, ICEYE, and Capella Space, Xoople is focused on enterprise software ecosystems before launching its hardware. The startup is betting that once its satellites are running, its system will fit into workflows that competitors are still trying to reach.
What comes next
Xoople will use the $130 million to fund its own hardware phase. With the funding news, Xoople also announced a deal with US defence contractor L3Harris to build sensors for its satellite network.
The company says its data will be 100 times more precise than current commercial systems, but this still needs to be proven in space.
The Earth observation market was worth $7 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach almost $15 billion by 2034. Xoople is counting on AI-driven demand for constant real-world data to push growth even further.
