Australia's HEO raises $25M to photograph satellites in geostationary orbit
What's the deal? HEODealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Australian space intelligence startup, has raised $25 million in Series B funding to expand its satellite imaging network into geostationary orbit. Beaten Zone Venture PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → led the round, with participation from Australia's National Reconstruction FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Dcode CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, AirtreeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Salus VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? HEO uses cameras and sensors aboard satellites to take "flyby" images of other satellites and spacecraft in orbit. It operates what it calls the world's largest commercial non-Earth imaging network, with access to more than 50 sensors in orbit, and aims to make imagery of any object in the solar system available on demand.
Why GEO? The funding targets geostationary orbit, where many of the world's most valuable telecommunications, weather, and national-security satellites operate but commercial imagery remains scarce. HEO has booked its first two GEO launches, starting later this year, and plans reliable coverage in 2027.
What's it for? The money will support new sensor deployments, partnerships with satellite operators, and development of the AI models that turn orbital imagery into intelligence about spacecraft condition, activity, and identity.
Traditional monitoring largely answers one question — where is an object — while modern operations need to know what it is and what it is doing, HEO says. That matters for tracking both a company's own spacecraft and those of adversarial nations.
Why now? Thousands of spacecraft now operate across increasingly congested orbits. "Some of the world's most critical infrastructure is operating tens of thousands of kilometres above Earth, but our ability to see and understand what is happening to it remains limited," said chief executive officer and co-founder William Crowe.
Since its $8 million Series A in 2023, HEO has designed, built, and deployed eight sensors in orbit, now entering their second generation, and tripled revenue year over year.
The signal: The round places HEO among a small group betting that space domain awareness — knowing not just where objects are but what they are doing — is a growing government market. Lead investor Steve Baxter said the company is "on track to become one of Australia's most important defence industry unicorns," while National Reconstruction Fund chief executive officer David Gall framed the investment as shoring up "a critical sovereign defence capability" that will let HEO monitor 90% of space objects of interest to Australian and allied agencies.
Read more: heospace.com
Image credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video
