Seraphim SpaceTech Market Map 2025

Space investment firm Seraphim is tracking rapid growth in the in-space economy, more focused investment for satellite analytics, and larger funding rounds going to more companies. Via Satellite recently spoke with Seraphim investor Lucas Bishop about trends in the sector, along with a first look at the annual Seraphim SpaceTech Map for 2025, which maps out startup companies in the space sector.

“The in-space economy is progressing far faster than many expected, with large raises for orbital infrastructure and services showing how quickly this once-nascent segment is moving into the mainstream,” Bishop told Via Satellite.

Bishop also sees the funding picture in a healthier place, with capital spread across a wider set of companies raising $100 million-plus rounds rather than being concentrated in just a few mega-deals. He said that the massive capital concentration in SpaceX is no longer the whole story – capital is spreading across a much wider set of companies. This is having the impact of creating a more diversified space industry and a deeper base of quality businesses.

“We are particularly optimistic about manufacturing,” Bishop said. “A big driver here is re-shoring: governments and industry want greater control and resilience in their supply chains, which is pushing more production capacity back onshore. That’s fueling demand for new manufacturing approaches, both in hardware and in the software that supports design and production.”

For the Earth Observation (EO) market, Bishop believes EO “has matured considerably” with many of the top players now looking like established businesses. Looking at changes in the market over the past year, he said that investors are no longer backing analytics in isolation, and the value is shifting toward businesses that can productize insights and deliver them as part of a broader solution.

Bishop believes that pure-play analytics businesses aren’t getting much traction from investors, and that the deal flow here “has really slowed.” However, he does point to some encouraging signs here also.

“We are beginning to see productized businesses that leverage EO data in creative ways, embedding analytics into tangible solutions for end-users. That shift – from analytics as a service to analytics baked into products – feels like where the value is starting to emerge,” he said.

However, while there are the occasional headwinds, it is an exciting time to be investing in satellite tech. “Satcoms is entering a really exciting new phase. Direct-to-cell services are potentially game-changing, and spectrum developments – particularly the big announcements from SpaceX – have only heightened the interest. Add in Amazon’s Kuiper rollout and new constellations from China, and it’s clear this is one of the most competitive and dynamic segments of the industry,” he adds.

Seraphim’s market map breaks out satellite platforms into constellations for remote sensing, connectivity, and IoT, as well as high-altitude platform stations (HAPS).

In the new market map for 2025, Seraphim made the change of breaking out the ‘Build’ category to add a software subcategory within it, to recognize how software is a key part of the ‘Build’ ecosystem.

“The reason is that the manufacturing landscape is expanding rapidly – it’s no longer just about hardware and components, but also the software solutions that underpin design, testing, and production,” Bishop said. “We are seeing many more companies emerge with specialized tools for the manufacturing process, and that growth justified giving software its own place in the map.”

Bishop says it shows an industry that is “maturing fast.” Space has moved past the stage where most of the capital was concentrated in a handful of headline-making deals.

“Instead, we are seeing a broad base of high-quality companies raising serious money, spanning everything from launch and build through to in-space services. Defense and national security are becoming core drivers of demand, and the public markets are starting to reopen to space companies,” he said.

View a PDF of the 2025 market map