Scotland’s Earth Blox rakes in £1.5 million to harness satellite imaging data for Earth observation

Driven by net-zero and ESG, the earth observation market (EO) market for value-added services is forecast to double in the next ten years from £1.86 billion in 2021 to £3.97 billion by 2031. Companies from across the energy, insurance, and environmental sectors, as well as some international NGOs need for critical decision making around climate and security risks, environmental degradation, and adaptation to climate change.

Cashing in on this trend, Edinburgh-based satellite imaging platform Earth Blox has raised £1.5 million in funding from Archangels to expand its global reach and further develop its no-code Earth Observation (EO) cloud-based SaaS.

The Scottish SaaS startup uses satellite data to identify illegal activities such as deforestation and mining, which can help companies act on their supply chains. Ordinarily, harnessing satellite imaging data requires technical coding capabilities. But Earth Blox’s platform offers access to Google Earth Engine’s petabytes of planetary scale data with an easy-to-use ‘drag and drop’ interface.

The company’s impressive portfolio of clients includes the likes of Shell Nature Based Solutions, the United Nations, Globe Underwriting, and ADM Capital Foundation.

Going forward, the extra cash will allow the startup to scale its product, increase the volume of data sources, and to expand into new markets, including agriculture, urban development, finance for asset management, and ESG.

Genevieve Patenaude, CEO at Earth Blox, said: “Investment into innovative businesses like ours is vital to growth in all areas, from customer acquisition to building a great team. This investment will help us develop Earth Blox as a scalable SaaS and get the power of Earth observation insights into the hands of a range of users around the world.”

Niki McKenzie, joint managing director at Archangels added: “Earth Blox is pioneering the way companies and organisations can access and use satellite data to make better business decisions about the world and how it’s changing. Based in Scotland but with global ambitions, it aligns perfectly with our aim of supporting Scotland’s best early-stage businesses with high growth potential.”