German Earth Observation startup Marble Imaging has closed an oversubscribed €5.3 million seed round, led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF).
The raise surpassed initial targets and enables the company to scale operations and accelerate development of its first satellites, with the maiden launch set for Q4 2026.
This milestone follows more than €10 million in non-dilutive funding and a €3 million anchor contract with ESA—further validating Marble Imaging’s mission to supply Europe with independent, very-high-resolution (VHR) data and analytics.
“Europe urgently needs sovereign access to timely, VHR optical imagery,” says Koen Geurts, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF. “Marble is moving faster than anyone else to fill that gap, and I’m excited to support their vision of building a European leader for a global market.”
Strong Investor Coalition Backs Europe’s EO Ambitions
Joining HTGF are additional European investors aligned with Marble’s mission, including BBM, Lightfield Equity, Oslo Venture Company, nwk/nwu Beteiligungsgesellschaften, Sentris Capital, Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund, and SpaceFounders.
The new capital will expand Marble’s development team and speed completion of its intelligence, maritime, and terrain-analysis products—tools already in use by early customers. It will also support the build-out of Marble’s full data-processing pipeline and customer portal, ensuring seamless access to VHR imagery and analytics once the first satellite becomes operational.
“We’re thrilled to welcome a European investor base committed to strengthening dual-use Earth Observation technology,” says Robert Hook, CEO and Co-Founder. “This funding lets us accelerate capability development to match surging demand.”
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Building a 20-Satellite Constellation for Hourly VHR Coverage
Marble Imaging’s first satellite will deliver very-high-resolution multispectral data, with plans to scale to 20 satellites by 2028, enabling up to hourly refresh rates over key global regions.
Demand for sovereign, high-frequency Earth Observation data is growing rapidly across defence, climate-security applications, disaster response, and critical infrastructure monitoring — areas where AI-powered analytics require consistent, high-quality imagery.
Co-founders Robert Hook, Dr. Gopika Suresh, and Alexander Epp have positioned Marble at the centre of this shift by securing early institutional support, strong customer traction, and substantial non-dilutive funding from DLR and ESA InCubed.
The seed round was oversubscribed, and Marble Imaging is now preparing a Series A to accelerate the build-out of its constellation and onboard additional strategic partners.
About Marble Imaging
Marble Imaging is a German Earth Observation company building a constellation of very-high-resolution satellites to deliver near-hourly imaging and advanced analytics for time-critical decision-making. Founded in 2023, the company provides intelligence solutions across defence, climate security, disaster response, energy transition, infrastructure, mobility, and more. Marble’s analytics suite includes object detection, terrain intelligence, trafficability modelling, coastal monitoring, and land-cover classification.
About High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF)
HTGF is one of Europe’s most active early-stage investors, backing young companies across Deep Tech, Climate Tech, Industrial Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences, and Chemistry. Since 2005, HTGF has invested in around 800 startups and supported 200 successful exits. Backed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital, and over 45 corporate and family-office investors, HTGF manages more than €2 billion in fund capital.
