Korean space tech startup CONTEC raises $11m in Series B funding

Korean space tech company CONTEC announced raising raised $11 million in its Series B funding round led by local venture capital firm Atinum Investment to fuel its expansion plans.

In a statement, the startup said four other major venture capital investors in Korea, including Korean Development Bank, Industrial Banks of Korea, Korean Investment Partners, and Intellian Tech, also participated in the funding round.

“The funding is to be used for constructing more ground stations as well as developing new technologies, including space-to-ground FSO communication,” CONTEC said.

Launched in Korea in 2015 and in Luxembourg in 2019, CONTEC has over 58 engineers who are working with CEO Sunghee Lee to provide holistic solutions required for downstream data transmitted by satellites.

The startup is a spin-off company from Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), where Lee has spent 16 years working in the launch and satellite operational mission.

CONTEC provides Ground Station (GS) service with its own ground stations. It currently services major EO satellites with its first station in Jeju(Korea) site with a few other stations to be constructed by the end of this year.

The company plans to have 12 GSs beyond Korea, including Alaska, Chile, South East Asia, Europe, Australia, and Africa by 2024.

It also plans to be an end-to-end service provider by providing turn-key solutions for space operators, with plans to launch its EO satellites to get its own SI (Satellite Image) data and provide various application services with satellite image data.

The startup also commenced developing an LCT module and FSO Ground Station for the future communication technology and delivery of high data for satellite images.

CONTEC said customers may freely schedule satellite passes and download its data from a web-based customer interface CONTEC ONE, which enables pass reservation in one click.

“As long as users have a secured internet connection, they can use CONTEC’s ground stations registered from any corner on the earth’s surface,” the startup added.