Boost for European space sovereignty as Open Cosmos gets Connected

Open Cosmos has acquired Connected, a Portuguese startup dedicated to offering “pioneering” affordable, standardised internet of things (IoT) connectivity from space. Open Cosmos stated that the move will strengthen Europe’s technological autonomy as well as fast-track its connectivity capabilities and anchor long-term industrial growth in Portugal.

Claiming to be one of Europe’s fastest-growing space infrastructure companies, Open Cosmos designs, builds and operates complete satellite missions, with production facilities in the UK, Spain, Greece and now in Portugal. 

Founded in 2023, Connected initially developed a proprietary hosted payload platform for narrowband IoT connectivity, launched pilots across Europe and secured strategic partnerships with EchoStar Mobile, Fraunhofer and other international partners. In these two years, Connected has evolved from a research-driven idea into a commercially operational platform shaping the future of space-enabled IoT.

Its technology, based on standardised protocols such as 5G NB-IoT and mioty, is designed to reduces “dramatically” the cost and complexity of space-based communications, enabling applications from infrastructure monitoring to emergency response and ocean surveillance to smart agriculture and off-grid renewable energy systems.

The company has also received strong institutional backing, including support from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Portuguese Space Agency, strengthening its positioning as a key enabler of interoperable, sovereign space services.

Initially accelerated by the ESA BIC at Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN) in Coimbra and later hosted at UPTEC in Porto, Connected was also selected for the Unicorn Factory Lisboa Scaling-Up Programme and the SpaceFounders European Accelerator. Just months after incorporation, the company raised €2m in what was said to be the largest pre-seed round ever by a Portuguese space startup.

“We were in the middle of raising our Seed round when the opportunity emerged,” said Tiago Rebelo, former CEO at Connected, now chief revenue officer (CRO) at Open Cosmos and managing director at Open Cosmos subsidiaries in Portugal. “The offer from Open Cosmos was simply too aligned – in mission, culture and ambition – to ignore. It was a clear recognition of our technology and of the real-world progress we achieved with limited resources and relentless focus.”

Open Cosmos regards the transaction as marking one of the fastest successful startup exits in European space-tech history, as well as a major milestone for Portugal’s emergence as a leading innovation and manufacturing hub for the space economy.

“Connected has built in two years what takes others five – [It is] one of Europe’s most capable space startups,” said Open Cosmos founder and CEO Rafel Jordà Siquier. “[Its] hosted payload model fits seamlessly into our OpenConstellation vision, accelerating our ability to deliver scalable, multi-purpose and mission-flexible space infrastructure that serves both institutional and commercial needs across Europe and beyond.”

The deal will see Connected become dedicated IoT connectivity unit at Open Cosmos’ and all 22 Connected team members will join a growing Open Cosmos Atlantic team of 18. Connected Cosmos will now lead the Open Cosmos’ connectivity strategy, offering scalable and affordable products for industries ranging from maritime to energy, logistics and beyond.

The acquisition also builds on Open Cosmos’ expanding presence in Portugal. The company has invested more than €15m in national operations to date, with that figure is expected to exceed €50m over the next three years as its local presence scales. This includes the launch of a new satellite factory at IPN in Coimbra, where three Portuguese-engineered satellites will be assembled and operated starting in late 2025. These missions, powered by Connected’s payloads, will deliver integrated Earth Observation data and IoT connectivity from orbit.