Ibadan, 26 February 2024. – Connected, the Portuguese startup on a mission to make universal, standardized, sustainable and affordable NB-IoT connectivity from space a reality, has secured a €2M funding round. Shilling VC, Iberis Capital and FundBox co-led the funding round, with significant contributions from Amena Ventures, angel investor Keith Willey and Octopus Ventures, which leads one of the largest and most active investment funds in Europe.

With this investment, Connected will consequently expand its team and accelerate the development of its proprietary technology, whose first tests in space will tentatively happen by the end of 2024.

The demand for space-based connectivity is growing, driven by the exponential growth of IoT devices in off-grid regions. Furthermore, projections indicate that the number of IoT devices demanding satellite-based connectivity will exceed 21 million worldwide by 2026. This growth has exposed the fact that approximately 80% of the planet lacks mobile cellular coverage, leaving over 450 million people disconnected from the grid and limiting the potential of many businesses.

To address this challenge, Connected is developing a proprietary, autonomous and scalable payload system that will seamlessly integrate into third-party satellites in Low Earth Orbit. As a result, the goal is to ensure a unique and sustainable service.

Speaking on the round, Tiago Rebelo, co-founder and CEO of Connected, said, “The completion of this round of investment is a significant milestone for a company. We are very excited about the support we were able to gather, bringing together a group of renowned investors around us who share our vision.”

The CEO also added, “With this investment, we take another step in building a global IoT connectivity network, which will support digital transformation and climate transition on Earth, in addition to contributing to the sustainability of space, limiting the number of new assets in orbit.”