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Unseenlabs

Space · Rennes, France · Founded 2015

Founded in 2015 by brothers Clément, Jonathan, and Benjamin Galic, Unseenlabs is a French company specializing in space-based radio frequency (RF) detection for Maritime Domain Awareness. Jonathan Galic, an expert in Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), identified a market gap for private sector RF surveillance, leading to the company's creation with his brothers, one of whom is a business attorney. The company's core mission is to provide a comprehensive overview of maritime traffic by geolocating vessels from space using their RF signal emissions. Unseenlabs operates its own constellation of satellites equipped with proprietary technology that detects, characterizes, and geolocates shipborne RF emitters globally, regardless of weather conditions or time of day. This technology is designed to address the limitations of conventional tracking systems like the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which can be turned off or manipulated, creating blind spots in surveillance. By capturing electromagnetic signatures from any ship with onboard electronics, Unseenlabs can track uncooperative or "dark" vessels, providing critical data for identifying illegal activities such as illicit fishing, smuggling, and piracy. The company serves both public and private sector clients, including government agencies, navies, insurance companies, and offshore energy firms, by providing data that enhances their surveillance and security operations. Unseenlabs' business model involves selling this RF data and associated solutions to its global customer base. The firm has steadily expanded its satellite constellation, with plans to operate 25 satellites by the end of 2025 to reduce revisit times to under an hour. The company has secured significant funding to support this growth, including an €85 million Series C round in February 2024, bringing its total funding to €120 million. Keywords: maritime surveillance, radio frequency detection, satellite constellation, space-based intelligence, vessel tracking, dark vessel detection, Maritime Domain Awareness, signals intelligence, SIGINT, geolocation data, ship tracking, earth observation, New Space, illegal fishing, maritime security, RF data, satellite technology, remote sensing, geospatial intelligence, AIS spoofing