Sydney satellite data analytics startup Arlula has raised $2.2 million in a Seed round.

The round was led by CSIRO’s deep tech VC fund Main Sequence, backed by Black Nova Venture Capital.

Launched in 2018, Arlula makes Earth observation (EO) data and imagery captured by satellites available for businesses to make better decisions using the information gathered from space.

It was supported by the space technology accelerator Moonshot in 2021, raising $500,000 in pre-Seed funding. The NSW government will receive an $80,000 grant for this Arlula and the CSIRO to research and develop an automated technical solution that solves the problem of integrating large commercial Earth observation data workflows into open source and academic projects.

The new capital will be allocated to expand access to EO’s collected data for small businesses and open up new markets. The startup’s Geostack Terra platform provides access to EO data, including both live data and archive footage dating back to the 1970s.

It can enable a company to remotely monitor hard-to-reach infrastructure such as offshore oil platforms, mines and pipelines, reducing the need for physical inspections and response in a more timely and cost-effective manner.

Australian Space Agency said Enrico Palermo said Earth observation data and technologies are critical for a range of applications from agriculture and resource management to natural disasters and climate science.

“Arlula’s innovation is a great example of space technology finding a market that private investors are willing to support while delivering benefits to Australians here on Earth,” he said.