HawkEye 360 operates a constellation of nine RF-monitoring satellites. Twenty-one additional satellites are under construction or built and awaiting launch. Credit: Hawkeye 360

SAN FRANCISCO – Hawkeye 360 raised $145 million in a Series D investment round led by Insight Partners and Seraphim Space Investment Trust.

With the funding, HawkEye 360, an RF data reconnaissance firm, will expand its satellite constellation and ground infrastructure, while enhancing services to customers focused on humanitarian, environmental, commercial and national security missions, according to a Nov. 8 news release.

Additional funding for HawkEye 360’s Series D round was provided by the Strategic Development Fund, the investment arm of the United Arab Emirate’s Tawazun Holding. Joining the round were new investors Jacobs, Gula Tech Adventures, 116 Street Ventures and New North Ventures, as well as existing investors including Advance, Razor’s Edge, NightDragon, SVB Capital, Shield Capital and Adage Capital.

With the latest windfall, Herndon, Virginia-based Hawkeye 360 has raised $302 million.

“HawkEye 360 is pleased to be welcoming phenomenal new partners to our world class investment family, all of whom share our vision of using revolutionary commercial RF-monitoring capabilities to produce positive impacts for humanity and the environment,” HawkEye 360 CEO John Serafini said in a statement. “As a new, well-backed space data and analytics company with a unique dual-use technology, we are ideally situated not only to create great value for the defense, intelligence and national security communities, but also to change the paradigm for organizations confronting complex challenges like illegal fishing, poaching, maritime smuggling and environmental degradation.”

Hawkeye 360 operates a constellation of nine satellites in three clusters to detect, characterize and geolocate RF signals stemming from emitters like VHF marine radios, UHF push-to-talk radios, maritime and land-based radar systems, L-band satellite devices and emergency beacons.

“We are excited to partner with HawkEye 360 as the company continues to scale up and to expand its geospatial intelligence technology capabilities for both government and commercial markets,” Nick Sinai, Insight Partners managing director who will join HawkEye 360’s board, said in a statement.

Mark Boggett, Seraphim Space Investment Trust’s investment manager, said in a statement, “HawkEye 360 is the undisputed global champion in radio frequency analysis, a market we believe will grow to billions of dollars over the next few years.”

Seraphim Space established a relationship with HawkEye 360 in 2017. The company also participated in the AWS Space Accelerator managed by Seraphim.

Seraphim is contributing $25 to the Series D round. The investment “reflects the potential we believe this breakthrough technology will have across the environmental and security sectors,” said Boggett, who serves as Seraphim Space LLP CEO. “We are convinced that HawkEye 360 has both the technology advantage together with the commercial and governmental relationships to transform, reshape and develop the industry on a global scale at speed.”

HawkEye 360 has won government contracts, including a contract with a base value of $10 million plus options to help the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency discover, characterize and map activities that emit RF signals. The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office awarded HawkEye 360 a study contract in 2019.

Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She...