Insider Brief
- AIKO has secured a €3.5 million investment from Deep Blue Ventures and Primo Ventures, part of a larger €5 million capital raise.
- The boost in funds are aimed at accelerating AIKO’s growth and supporting its international expansion, with a focus on France, and beginning U.S. operations by 2025.
- With this investment, AIKO’s total funding has reached €6.5 million.
Italian scale-up AIKO, known for its advanced AI and automation-based software for space applications, announced it has secured a €3.5 million investment from Deep Blue Ventures (DBV) and Primo Ventures. This funding is part of a larger €5 million capital raise aimed at accelerating AIKO’s growth and supporting its international expansion. With this investment, AIKO’s total funding has reached €6.5 million.
Deep Blue Ventures, the lead investor in this round, made AIKO its fifth investment since the fund launched in May 2023. For Primo Ventures, this marks a continued relationship with AIKO, having previously invested €1.5 million in 2020. With plans to grow its team from 40 to 70 employees, AIKO is looking to strengthen its presence in France and lay the groundwork for U.S. operations.
The funding will also support the scaling of AIKO’s software solutions, which include gifted_GENE, a predictive maintenance tool for space missions, and orbital_OLIVER, an onboard operating system that enables autonomous spacecraft operations. AIKO aims to develop an integrated platform that automates mission operations from end to end, driving efficiency and reliability in space missions.
AIKO’s Founder and CEO, Lorenzo Feruglio, highlighted the company’s ambition to become a global player in space automation, targeting both Europe and the U.S. as key markets. “This operation is a key milestone at a crucial moment in our growth,” Feruglio said. “Our goal is to enable autonomous space missions, where technology can make a difference in fault prevention and optimizing delicate operations.”
Deep Ocean Capital’s Emilia Garito emphasized the importance of supporting Italian innovation in space. “AIKO is an exceptional example of Italian space automation, and we want to accelerate its global impact,” she said.
Primo Space’s General Partner, Matteo Cascinari, noted that AIKO was their first investment and expressed confidence in the company’s ability to meet the growing demand for AI in space. “The use of AI in space has vast growth potential, and we believe AIKO is well-positioned to lead in this market,” Cascinari added.
Image credit: AIKO
