In a move that strengthens Europe’s technological autonomy, Open Cosmos has acquired Connected, a Portuguese startup pioneering affordable, standardised IoT connectivity from space. As 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 and Greece – and new operations launching in Portugal.
This transaction marks one of the fastest successful startup exits in European space-tech history and a major milestone for Portugal’s emergence as an innovation and manufacturing hub for the space economy. The amount involved in the operation was not disclosed.
“Connected has built in two years what takes others five. They’re one of Europe’s most capable space startups,” said Rafel Jordà, Founder and CEO of Open Cosmos. “Their hosted payload model fits seamlessly into our Open Constellation 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.”
Founded in 2023 by André Guerra, Hélder Oliveira, Raquel Magalhães and Tiago Rebelo, Connected experienced milestones such as rapidly developing a proprietary hosted payload platform for narrowband IoT connectivity, launching pilots across Europe and securing strategic partnerships with EchoStar Mobile, Fraunhofer and other international partners.
Its technology – based on standardised protocols such as 5G NB-IoT and mioty – drastically reduces 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. In just two years, Connected evolved from a research-driven idea into a commercially operational platform shaping the future of space-enabled IoT.
“We were in the middle of raising our Seed round when the opportunity emerged. 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,” said Tiago Rebelo, former CEO at Connected, now Chief Revenue Officer, Open Cosmos and Managing Director, Open Cosmos subsidiaries in Portugal.
The company 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. These ecosystem anchors accelerated rapid development and market entry.
Just months after incorporation, the company raised €2 million in one of the largest pre-seed round ever by a Portuguese space startup. The round was co-led by Shilling VC, Iberis Capital, and FundBox, with participation from Octopus Ventures, Amena Ventures and angel investor Keith Willey.
As part of the acquisition, Connected becomes Open Cosmos’ dedicated IoT connectivity unit. All 22 Connected team members join a growing Open Cosmos Atlantic team of 18. Open Cosmos now employs close to 200 people, has been profitable for the last 4 years with high growth, on top of raising more than 50 million Euros to date. The company maintains a 100% mission success rate in orbit across all its satellite missions.
The acquisition also builds on Open Cosmos’ growing presence in Portugal. The company has invested over €15 million in national operations to date, and that figure is expected to exceed €50 million 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.
Connected will now lead Open Cosmos’ connectivity strategy, offering scalable and affordable solutions for industries ranging from maritime to energy, logistics and beyond.
“This is just the beginning,” said Rebelo. “Together, we’ll be building a future where Europe leads not just in technology, but in industrial capability, delivering meaningful space services that solve global problems, connects people and assets, protects critical environments and reinforces regional independence.”
With this acquisition, Open Cosmos strengthens its commitment to Portugal and scales its ability to deliver next-generation space services across Europe. From EO and IoT to secure communications, this marks a decisive step toward a more autonomous, resilient and connected European future – fully in line with the EU’s long-term vision for sovereign and scalable space capabilities.
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