Kreios Space Announces €8 Million Seed Financing to Bring Satellites Closer to Earth and Europe Closer to Strategic Autonomy

Kreios Space, developer of the first generation of satellites able to fly at Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), has raised €8 million in seed Financing led by the NATO Innovation Fund and JOIN Capital, to bring satellites closer to Earth and Europe closer to strategic autonomy.

A new generation of satellites is moving closer to Earth than ever before, and Europe aims to take the lead. Spanish startup Kreios Space, whose breakthrough technology enables satellites to operate in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), a region once thought unreachable, has announced the largest European funding round in this domain to date.

The new funding builds on the €2.3 million raised in 2024 and will support Kreios Space’s first two test satellites, including the world’s first in-orbit demonstration of an Air-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) engine. Following these missions, the company plans to scale toward commercial deployment and dedicated constellations for Earth observation and direct-to-device communications.

Based in Vigo on Spain’s northwest coast, Kreios Space has evolved from a lab project into a 17-person team supported by European investors and advisors with experience at Thales, JAXA, and ESA. With its latest Seed round, the company is poised to establish itself as Europe’s leader in VLEO, an orbit that could shape the commercial and strategic landscape of space for decades to come.