June 3 (SeeNews) - Germany-based investment firm Freigeist Capital has invested over 1.0 million euro ($1.1 million) in Bulgarian nanosatellite startup EnduroSat, Bulgarian media reported.
Freigeist Capital has acquired 3,914 preference shares in EnduroSat, which represents a 5.4% stake in the startup, Capital business daily reported last week.
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Freigeist Capital's investment will help the company expand its computer engineering team, launch its second satellite at the end of 2020 or at the beginning of next year and start offering a new shared satellite service to end customers which can be private companies, science organisations, universities or space agencies, Capital quoted EnduroSat founder Raycho Raychev as saying.
Data sent via satellite could be used by transport companies for tracking of cargo or by energy companies to conduct infrastructure surveillance, Raychev added.
"We hope that the new service will empower organizations to initiate their commercial and science missions. Due to the flexibility on software-level our NanoSats can accommodate multiple payloads on each mission, enabling easier access to space for entrepreneurs and scientists," EnduroSat said in a statement last month.
This is the biggest investment in the company to date. Commercial register data showed in April that Bulgarian venture capital firm Neo Ventures has invested a further 652,000 levs in EnduroSat, acquiring 1,864 newly-issued ordinary shares in the startup at a price of 349.754 levs apiece. Neo Ventures first invested in EnduroSat in 2017 when it acquired 2,058 shares at a price of 285.11 levs each.
According to commercial register data, EnduroSat has a registered capital of 70,451 levs, divided into 68,546 ordinary and 1,905 preference shares.
Founded in 2015, EnduroSat designs, builds and operates nanosatellites for a range of commercial, exploration and science missions. It focuses on inter-satellite connectivity and space data applications.
The company generated revenue of 1.9 million levs and a net profit of 259,000 levs in 2018, according to its latest annual financial statement. EnduroSat currently has a team of 45 engineers and over 75 clients.
Bonn-headquartered Freigeist Capital is a privately-owned investment firm working with visionary founders to fund and build disruptive technology companies. The firm specializes in identifying and backing extraordinary founders at an early stage, often before their companies have even been founded, according to information available on its LinkedIn profile.
($ = 0.891248 euro)