Scottish tech firm Earth Blox has secured £1.5m funding from Archangels to expand its global reach and further develop its no-code Earth Observation (EO) cloud based SaaS.
Photograph: Mike Wilkinson | Copyright: Mike Wilkinson
Earth Blox enables users to create customised insights from satellite and geospatial data in a straightforward way to allow companies and organisations to make informed decisions based on powerful insights into the world and how it is changing. Ordinarily, harnessing satellite imaging data requires technical coding capabilities, but Earth Blox’s platform offers access to Google Earth Engine’s petabytes of planetary scale data with an easy-to-use ‘drag and drop’ interface.
The company’s no-code technology is designed to meet the growing need of a wide range of sectors, businesses, and users to quickly and easily access earth observation insights as part of strategic planning, monitoring and reporting. With net zero and ESG as key drivers, the EO market for value-added services like Earth Blox is forecast to double in the next ten years from £1.86bn in 2021 to £3.97bn by 2031.
Companies from across the energy, insurance, and environmental sectors, as well as some international NGOs use Earth Blox to inform critical decision making around climate and security risks, environmental degradation, and adaptation to climate change.
The £1.5 million funding was raised by Archangels, the world’s longest running business angel investment syndicate, which specialises in supporting emerging and ambitious Scottish SMEs in the life sciences and technology sectors. This seed round will allow Earth Blox to scale its product, to increase the volume of data sources, and to expand into new markets including, agriculture, urban development, finance for asset management, and ESG.
Already marketised and with major global customers, Earth Blox is one of the leading companies in Scotland’s burgeoning space, data and environmental tech sectors. Its customers include Shell Nature Based Solutions, the United Nations, Globe Underwriting, and ADM Capital Foundation.
Genevieve Patenaude, CEO at Earth Blox, said:
“We are very pleased to secure this funding from Archangels and join a strong portfolio of businesses in the life sciences and tech sectors. Investment into innovative businesses like ours is vital to growth in all areas, from customer acquisition to building a great team. This investment will help us develop Earth Blox as a scalable SaaS and get the power of Earth observation insights into the hands of a range of users around the world.”
Niki McKenzie, Joint Managing Director at Archangels, said:
“Earth Blox is pioneering the way companies and organisations can access and use satellite data to make better business decisions about the world and how it’s changing.
“Based in Scotland but with global ambitions, Earth Blox aligns perfectly with our aim of supporting Scotland’s best early-stage businesses with high growth potential. We look forward to supporting Genevieve and her team on this next step of the journey to further develop the product and open up new markets.”
Founded in 1992, Archangels is a leading business angel syndicate investing in early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies.
Archangels comprises around 120 members and a five strong full time executive team. In 2021, the syndicate invested £11.8m to reach a total of £23.6m including co-investment from Scottish Government agencies and other partners. There are currently 21 companies within the portfolio.
