What do future disruptive space technologies mean for Defence? James - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Advisory Board Meeting 07/06/17

w w w . s e r a p h i m c a p i t a l . c o m

What do future disruptive space technologies mean for Defence?

James Bruegger, Managing Partner Defence Space 2018, 22nd May 2018

Seraphim Space Fund Overview

• World’s only space-tech focused VC fund
• $90 million / £70 million
• Backed by leading space & data analytics

companies, British Business Bank and the European Space Agency

• Team includes EO visionaries who have scaled

to billions users / $billions exits

• Investing globally, bias to European based
• companies. UK presence req’d
• Focus on Series A, but remit Seed to Series B+
• £1-3m initial investments, max c.£10m total /

company

• Also run dedicated space-tech angel network

+ accelerator

• Tech convergence driving change
• Smartphone, Storage & CPU COTS, A.I.
• Catalysing new applications

A 100x decrease in the economics of space is a once-in-a-generation game changer

Space’s ‘PC Moment’ Is Now

Disruption being led by venture funded start-ups

Why a Space Fund? Why Now?

Our Investment Focus

Teledyne??

Backing businesses that observe, connect and guide the earth from above …and the broader technologies that support the full SpaceTech ecosystem Enabling Applications Tailored to Specific Verticals…

5

Seraphim Space Fund Stats

• 1500+ investments reviewed
• 150+ companies met
• 6 investments made
• 15+ Launchers
• 40+ Constellations
• 30+ Drones
• 40+ Image Analytics
• 100+ Product

INNOVATION CLUSTERS: Upstream

• Dedicated and responsive smallsat launchers, CubeSat

deployers, Novel fuels, Reusability, Spaceports

• Novel sensors, Deployable and lightweight structures,

On-board signal processing, Robotic & autonomous systems

• SigInt, Spectroscopy, IoT nanosat constellations, Cyber

security (quantum key distribution), Hosted payloads, Multi platform operations (UAVs & HAPS)

INNOVATION CLUSTERS: Downstream

• Edge computing, Data centre processors, Semiconductors

& Devices, Hardware security modules (HSMs)

• Optical comms and inter-satellite links, advanced antenna

systems (ESAs, GNSS), bandwidth efficiency, post quantum encryption (satellite + device)

• A.I. for E.O. – deep learning for object & change detection,

classification and forecasting, Smart geospatial systems

THEMES: Persistent Surveillance

10

THEMES: A.I. for Earth Observation

AI Feature Extraction Change Detection Forecasting

Credit: SA Catapult

THEMES: Space Assurance

• Resiliency / redundancy – Commercial smallsats (<500kg) and hosted

Government payloads

• Flexible launch arrangements for smallsats.
• Fail-safe space infrastructure - to act as a deterrent for attacks on

government space assets.

• Cybersecurity– denial of service attacks / concerns about potential adversary

hacking our satellites and data integrity.

• Optical/Laser communications – rapid high capacity data/comms

transmission, can’t be jammed or hacked.

THEMES: Drones / UAVs

• High altitude long duration UAVs for ISR - 24/7 unblinking eye over an area
• f interest and communications (especially in satellite denied areas and

disaster response).

• Counter-UAV (detection, identification, tracking and neutralising) for military

and civilian applications. Seeking different counter solutions – kinetic, non- kinetic (electronic warfare) and direct energy.

• Autonomous & multi drone missions – using more robots and drones for

dangerous missions as well as front-line augmentation (offensive & defensive)

• Robotic mission management software - to support one operator operating

many drones.

• Protection of military air traffic zones – scalable air traffic control software,

integrating manned and unmanned aircraft.

THEMES: Space Situational Awareness

• 250,000 objects threaten satellites today
• Existing space debris tracking infrastructure not fit for purpose in

new LEO world

• Shift from exceptional reporting of threats to real-time monitoring

and tracking of space assets

Credit: ESA

EXAMPLE: SIGINT

• Leading ‘New Space’

company – 50+ ‘listening’ satellites in orbit

• Collecting SigInt data from

most remote / inaccessible parts of the world

• Near real time tracking of all

shipping & aircraft globally

• 1st company to collect

commercial weather data from space

EXAMPLE: PERSISTENT SURVEILLANCE

• Constellation of miniaturised synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.
• Capable of imaging the earth 24/7 (day & night, through clouds)
• 1/100th size & cost of traditional SAR satellites

Credit: Iceye

• End-to-end robotic aerial security solution designed

to enhance physical security at large sites

• Cutting edge autonomous flight, swarming

capabilities

EXAMPLE: AUTONOMOUS DRONES

17

• Next generation air traffic control platform for

drones

• 4 dimensional real time map of airspace
• Key building block for advent of autonomous drones

and integration of manned and unmanned traffic

EXAMPLE: SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

18

EXAMPLE: NEXT GEN SENSORS

• Developer of world’s first truly digital radar
• Leveraging COTS wifi chips from digital

comms industry to perform radar function

• Key enabler of machine vision (depth

perception)

• Applications in drones, AR/VR, IoT, robotics

19

EXAMPLE: POST QUANTUM CYBERSECURITY

• UK-based constellation still in ‘stealth mode’’
• Encryption is a largely ‘invisible’ lynchpin

technology upon which much of the digital economy relies

• The sceptre of a general-purpose quantum

computing becoming a reality in the next 5- 10 years

• Satellite-QKD represents the next paradigm

in Satcoms

20

21

Thank You!

james@seraphimcapital.com www.seraphimcapital.com