MADRID, SPAIN — June 24, 2026 — FOSSA Systems, a prominent player in the European space and defense ecosystem, has officially closed a €9.25 million funding round to accelerate its international expansion and aggressively deploy its sovereign low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.
The investment round was led by Kibo Ventures and features heavy institutional backing from the newly established Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT)—an entity attached to Spain’s Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service. Additional participants in the syndicate include the Space Frontiers Fund II (managed by Japan’s SPARX Asset Management), Indico Capital Partners, and WISeSAT. The capital injection brings FOSSA’s total funding since inception to nearly €20 million.
Vertical Integration and the Push for SIGINT Autonomy
Founded in 2020 by Julián Fernández and Vicente González, FOSSA Systems has scaled rapidly to become Spain’s most active satellite operator, having successfully orbited 25 satellites to date. The company’s upcoming launch in the consecutive weeks will place its 26th satellite into orbit as part of a broader blueprint to field a 140-satellite global Internet of Things (IoT) network.
FOSSA specializes in vertical integration, developing its own core technologies encompassing the spacecraft bus, localized ground stations, and custom IoT edge sensors. By operating an entirely sovereign chain, the company builds and delivers highly specialized satellite platforms ranging from 10 kg picosatellites to multi-payload 150 kg microsatellites.
The company’s technology stack addresses mission-critical applications across industrial and governmental vertices, including energy grid optimization, agricultural analytics, logistics tracking, and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) for national security operations.
Mitigating Geopolitical Dependencies at the Edge
The capital injection coincides with a profound strategic shifts across the European Union toward strategic autonomy and resilient localized space architecture. As space assets cement themselves as vital defense infrastructure, European nations are heavily prioritizing space operators capable of deploying payload capacity without outside technological dependencies.
“Thanks to FOSSA, small nations, Ministries of Defence, and global corporations can define and execute their own space strategy in just a few months, while the vertical integration of the entire technology chain has allowed us to reduce costs by an order of magnitude,” stated Julián Fernández, CEO and co-founder of FOSSA. “In just a few years, we have gone from being a startup to an internationally present company with 25 satellites launched and technology that responds to real needs of industrial, institutional, and governmental clients. Our goal is to establish FOSSA as a European benchmark in sovereign space infrastructure.”
Juan López Santamaría, Partner at Kibo Ventures, highlighted the company’s rapid operational execution as a vital differentiator for the European defense sector:
“Europe needs technological champions capable of reducing dependencies in strategic sectors,” Santamaría noted. “FOSSA has demonstrated that it can develop and operate sovereign space infrastructure with exceptional speed and efficiency.” Following the close of the transaction, Santamaría will formally join FOSSA’s board of directors.
Penetrating the Allied Defense Market
FOSSA’s defense credentials have steadily gained momentum across allied networks. The company was recently selected to participate in NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) program, selected for its advanced low-Earth orbit electromagnetic and signals intelligence capabilities.
Concurrently, FOSSA is accelerating its international commercial push. With existing offices operating in Madrid and Lisbon, the company has established its third international corporate presence in Tokyo, Japan. The expansion is backed by a major strategic agreement with Japanese industrial powerhouse Kanematsu Corporation to formally introduce and deploy FOSSA’s space intelligence and dual-use technologies directly into the Japanese Ministry of Defense market.
