According to EU-Startups, Bremen-based Marble Imaging has raised an oversubscribed €5.3 million Seed round, led by High-Tech Gründerfonds. The company, founded in 2023 by Robert Hook, Dr. Gopika Suresh, and Alexander Epp, is building its own constellation of very-high-resolution (VHR) Earth observation satellites. The first satellite is scheduled for launch in Q4 2026, with plans to expand to a fleet of up to 20 satellites by the end of 2028. The funding will scale operations and accelerate product development, following over €10 million in non-dilutive funding and a €3 million anchor contract with the European Space Agency. The round included investors like Lightfield Equity, Sentris Capital, and the Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund.
Europe’s SpaceTech Momentum
Here’s the thing: Marble’s raise isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s part of a serious cash infusion into the European satellite ecosystem right now. The article points to other recent deals: Spain’s Kreios Space (€8M for propulsion), Belgium’s EDGX (€2.3M for onboard AI), France’s Skynopy (€15M for ground stations), and the UK’s Spaceflux (€6.1M for tracking). That’s over €31 million just in those few examples. So investors are clearly betting across the entire value chain—from how you get to space, to what the satellite does up there, to how you get the data back down. It feels like Europe is methodically building a sovereign, full-stack space capability, piece by piece.
The VHR Data Race
Marble’s specific angle is that “very-high-resolution” optical data. This is the really detailed imagery, the kind that’s crucial for defense, infrastructure monitoring, and precise disaster response. The CEO of lead investor HTGF basically said they see a “critical European capability gap” here. That’s a telling phrase. It suggests that despite all the activity, there’s a specific, high-value niche that isn’t being served fast enough by existing players, even giants like Airbus. By aiming for hourly revisit times with their own satellites, Marble is trying to own the “time-critical” insight market. It’s a bold, capital-intensive move, but if the demand is as urgent as they say, owning the sensor might be the only way to guarantee the service level.
Funding and The Future Constellation
Now, €5.3 million is a solid Seed round, but let’s be real—it’s just the entry fee for building hardware that goes to space. That’s why the context of their other funding is so important. That €10+ million in non-dilutive grants and the €3 million ESA contract aren’t just nice extras; they’re survival fuel. They allow the company to de-risk the technology and secure early customers without giving away the whole company. It shows they can navigate the complex world of public funding, which is huge in European aerospace. The article also notes they’re already planning a Series A to actually build out the constellation. This Seed round is to get the team, tech, and tools ready to execute. It’s a stepping stone. The real financial heavy lifting is still to come.
A Perfect Storm of Timing
Could the timing be any better? The funding news drops right after the ESA Ministerial Council in—get this—Bremen, Marble’s hometown, secured a record €22.1 billion budget. Germany alone is pitching in over €5 billion. The political and financial stars are aligning for European space independence. For a company like Marble, this isn’t just background noise. It means a deeper pool of future contracts, a stronger supply chain, and a political mandate for the very “sovereign capability” they’re selling. They’re riding a wave they helped convince people to build. The challenge now is execution. Building reliable satellites on schedule is famously hard. But if they can pull it off, they’re positioning themselves at the nexus of two mega-trends: strategic autonomy and data-driven decision-making for everything from climate to security. That’s a powerful story for that next Series A.
