ICEYE and the SAR Boom
How did a Finnish radar start-up become the most valuable Earth observation company in Europe, and what does its rise say about the market?
Chapter summary
ICEYE built the first commercial constellation of small SAR satellites and now operates the largest, with 57 in orbit on Setcoin's catalogue count (22 launched in 2025 and 18 so far in 2026).
Key takeaways
- 1
It reported unaudited 2025 revenue above €250 million, EBITDA above €100 million and a contracted backlog of €1.5 billion, and says it expects to double again in 2026.
- 2
In June 2026 it raised €450 million of new money in a round led by General Atlantic, valuing it at more than €10 billion, with total transactions above €1 billion including secondary sales.
- 3
Its growth comes from selling satellites and dedicated capacity to European defence ministries (Germany's ~€1.7 billion SPOCK constellation through a joint venture with Rheinmetall, Sweden, Poland), insurance products and maritime surveillance.
Key figures in this chapter
- >€250M
- revenue 2025 (unaudited)
- >€100M
- EBITDA 2025 (unaudited)
- €1.5B
- contracted backlog
- >€10B
- valuation, June 2026 round
Source: ICEYE; Sacra; Defense Post
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