​​Launched in 2014, t​he Italian-headquartered company​ based in Lomazzo (Como)​ currently supports around 80 satellites and achieved for the first time this March more than 10,000 successful satellite passes during a single month​.​​     ​ ​Since 2020, it ​has seen a three-fold year-over-year increase in core business revenue and significant growth in capacity demand​​.​​

​​​The round was subscribed by lead investors CDP Venture Capital Sgr (through Fondo Evoluzione) and Neva Sgr, alongside SIMEST and Digital Transition Fund – part of the CDP S.p.A. group. SIMEST has also carried out its first operation through the Single Venture Capital Fund, the new direct investment tool dedicated to the internationalization of Italian start-ups and SMEs. The existing shareholders RedSeed Ventures, Primo Space, and Whysol Investments, all subscribed to the capital increase and contributed to the new funding round, which builds on the success of a previous initiative three years ago. Furthermore, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed an additional  €15 million in Venture Debt to the Company, and the transaction is in its finalization stage.​​ ​​​     ​​ 

“​The €20 million of secured funding from ​​     ​new and existing equity investors​ add up to the €15 million ​​     ​venture debt provided by the European Investment Bank​, although to be fully finalized​,​ and​ underscore the confidence in Leaf Space’s capabilities and the company’s potential for continued growth,” said Jonata Puglia, Leaf Space CEO and co- founder. “It further validates our success and market position as the second largest Ground Segment-as-a-Service (GSaaS) operator in the world”.  

“This funding will enable us to further expand our global network of ground stations as well as add several new locations worldwide. We also plan to support new frequencies for remote sensing satellites, continue simplifying the user experience of our services, hire new talent to scale up our activities, and proactively work on new segments of the market and special projects with customers and partners”.   

Giovanni Pandolfi Bortoletto, CSO & co-founder, said: “Within the next 10 years, we want to empower a future where spacecraft – regardless of their mission, application, orbit or deep space destination – are seamlessly serviceable and integrated to a plug-and-play (PnP) connectivity service”.  

​​“We are progressing towards efficient, fully automated, and ubiquitous communications with satellites, which will facilitate the ongoing and sustainable expansion of the space ecosystem.
​In this context, Leaf Space facilitates such communications with space infrastructures through its automatic scheduler – the proprietary algorithm on which Network Cloud Engine and a distributed antenna network are based – and lays the foundation for new ones not possible yet today”. ​​​​  

Leaf Space’s ground segment services are essential for managing satellite communications, data downlink and uplink operations for satellite operators globally. The company’s advanced software solutions, combined with its network of ground stations and expert team, have made it a trusted partner in the satellite industry.  

Investors’ comments

CDP Venture-Fondo Evoluzione
​​​“Leaf Space’s first-of-its-kind Network Cloud Engine is revolutionizing the satellite communications industry and has the potential to bring about a disruption to the industry comparable to the shift from manual to automatic switching in telephone exchanges. With a growing market and volume of data and satellite information, transferring them efficiently and conveniently will be increasingly important”, says Mario Scuderi, Head of the Evolution Fund and helped in the investment by Federico Clementi and Lorenzo Alibrandi.​​ ​​​     ​​ 

Neva
“As Neva SGR, we are excited to be part of Leaf Space’s journey and contribute to their continued success in revolutionizing satellite communications. We congratulate Leaf Space on this milestone and look forward to witnessing their advancements in the industry. Neva continues to invest in Italian excellence and in a sector, such as aerospace, which is central to Italian economy.” explains Mario Costantini, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Neva SGR. 

RedSeed Ventures
​​​“We invested in Leaf Space when it was no more than a project on a blank sheet, and we are proud to see it increasingly becoming an Italian excellence in the world in a strategic sector such as aerospace”, says Elisa Schembari, President of RedSeed Ventures and former President of Leaf Space. ​​ 

​​“I am very enthusiastic about this important round, which makes it one of the most financed Italian startups. For us at RedSeed, this is a further validation that our investment selection methodology works on very early-stage companies as was Leaf Space in 2016 when we were the only ones willing to invest in Jonata’s and Giovanni’s idea of making ground segment services accessible to the smallsat market at lower costs”, adds Roberto Zanco, CEO of RedSeed Ventures.​  

Primo Space
“As early investors, we are proud to see Leaf Space grow and consolidate their business even further. Leaf Space is bringing a significant contribution to the satellite industry with their services tailored to the needs of smallsat operators. The new services addressing high-growth space segments will be key to further strengthening their position in the GSaaS market.” comments Giorgio Minola, General Partner at Primo Space and Primomiglio SGR. 

Notes to Editors  

About Leaf Space 

Leaf Space operates a fully owned, globally distributed network of ground stations, empowering satellite operators to communicate with their spacecraft in the simplest and most flexible way. Leaf Space enables TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking, and Command) and payload data transmissions via an easy-to-use interface, a proprietary autonomous scheduling software, and its network’s global coverage. Founded in 2014, Leaf Space has offices in Lomazzo (Italy) and in Delaware (US). 

For further information:  

Leaf Space
Sara Lissoni, Marketing and Communications Manager 
E: sara.lissoni@leaf.space
W: www.leaf.space 

AstroAgency
Daniel Smith, Founder and Creative Director
E: daniel@astroagency.co.uk
W: www.astroagency.co.uk   

Lomazzo, Nov.03, 2022 – Leaf Space, a leading provider of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) solutions, announced today that it has successfully completed two month of ground operations in support of AST SpaceMobile Inc.’s BlueWalker 3 satellite. BlueWalker 3 is AST SpaceMobile’s prototype satellite designed to deliver space-based cellular broadband directly to unmodified mobile devices.

Leaf Space worked with AST SpaceMobile for several months prior to the launch to ensure satellite radio and ground station compatibility and integration, successful mission communication simulations, and regulatory compliance across Leaf Space’s global ground stations network. BlueWalker 3 launched on Sept. 10, 2022, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Signal was successfully acquired and locked in during the first pass of the mission, shortly after deployment from the launch vehicle.

BlueWalker 3 is Leaf Space’s largest satellite serviced to date, expanding the company’s portfolio of supported missions, which now includes PocketQubes, CubeSats, SmallSats, and large satellites.

Leaf Space has assisted the AST SpaceMobile operations team with global ground station network communications, with nine stations enabled for this mission.

“We are thrilled to share the results of our first month supporting AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 satellite on-orbit,” said Jai Dialani, Managing Director of Leaf Space. “Our global network and leading GSaaS services are performing to their fullest potential, and we are very excited to continue working with AST SpaceMobile to support their mission of connecting the unconnected.”

About Leaf Space

Leaf Space operates a fully owned, globally distributed network of ground stations, empowering satellite operators to communicate with their spacecraft in the most flexible way. Leaf Space enables TT&C and payload data transmissions via a simple user interface, a proprietary autonomous scheduling software, and network global coverage. Founded in 2014, Leaf Space currently supports more than 60 satellites in LEO – we’d love your spacecraft to be the next! For more information, please visit: leaf.space.

Media Contact

Sarah Nickell

sarah@nickellcommunications.com

Leaf Space contact

Sara Lissoni

sara.lissoni@leaf.space

About Leaf Space

Leaf Space is pioneering the concept of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) for forward-thinking satellite and launch operators around the world. Since its inception in 2014, Leaf Space has focused on developing the highest quality ground station services and technology with the goal of creating the most efficient and valuable ground segment solutions available on the modern space market. Leaf Space is based in Lomazzo, Italy and is funded by RedSeed Ventures, Whysol Investments, and Primo Space. For more information, please visit: leaf.space.

Leaf Space Contact

Sara Lissoni
sara.lissoni@leaf.space

This ground station will be integrated in a dedicated Leaf Key network to provide support to one of our customers, whose ambitious mission requires more capacity over this area through a customized service solution.

Fully owned and operated by Leaf Space, this second state of the art 3.7 meter S/X-band antenna in Santa Maria increases our capability to serve low inclination satellites and provides additional capacity for SSO orbits due to the strategic placement in a remote area of the Atlantic.

Since 2014 we are building, deploying and extending a solid distributed network infrastructure to increase the global coverage and the network capacity to offer the best and most robust services to our clients.

About Leaf Space

Leaf Space is pioneering the concept of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) for forward-thinking satellite and launch operators around the world. Since its inception in 2014, Leaf Space has focused on developing the highest quality ground station services and technology with the goal of creating the most efficient and valuable ground segment solutions available on the modern space market. Leaf Space is based in Lomazzo, Italy and is funded by RedSeed Ventures, Whysol Investments, and Primo Space. For more information, please visit: leaf.space.

Leaf Space Contact

Sara Lissoni
sara.lissoni@leaf.space

The new, state of the art 3.7 meter S/X-band antenna will offer additional opportunities for operators to communicate with and monitor the status of satellites in orbit, including critical data processing, transmission, telemetry, and control between satellite networks.

“This long-term agreement between Azercosmos and Leaf Space is an essential step toward future sustainable development of space-related activities between our companies and signals a larger Azerbaijan-Italy bilateral strategic partnership,” said Fuad Aslanov, Vice-Chairman of Azercosmos.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Azercosmos to support their growing presence in space while also expanding our already robust global network of ground stations by adding an antenna in Azerbaijan,” said Jonata Puglia, CEO and co-founder of Leaf Space.

About Leaf Space

Leaf Space is pioneering the concept of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) for forward-thinking satellite and launch operators around the world. Since its inception in 2014, Leaf Space has focused on developing the highest quality ground station services and technology with the goal of creating the most efficient and valuable ground segment solutions available on the modern space market. Leaf Space is based in Lomazzo, Italy and is funded by RedSeed Ventures, Whysol Investments, and Primo Space. For more information, please visit: leaf.space.

Media Contact

Sarah Nickell
sarah@nickellcommunications.com 

Leaf Space Contact

Sara Lissoni
sara.lissoni@leaf.space

Erika Ermoli
erika.ermoli@leaf.space

This successful deployment demonstrates Leaf Space’s wide range of capabilities to support customers with varying mission needs and specifications. Use cases included in this launch range from providing a testbed for bringing space-to-ground and space-to-space connectivity (Kepler), to
proving the maintenance and planning of water and electricity networks (NanoAvionics), to space logistics technology and transportation solutions (D-Orbit) and more.

We were able to move through our LEOP and commissioning very quickly and Leaf Space was a key part of that,” said Jake Urbanek, Director of Service Operations at Kepler Communications. “We were not only able to communicate with our satellites within days of the launch, but we were also able to complete a  whole batch of critical operations within those first days as well.”

Leaf Space continues to grow it’s customer base and list of capabilities while also expanding its distributed global ground station network.

“These types of rideshare missions are the future of commercial space and our technology services are perfectly positioned to support customers with growing constellations across a wide variety of missions and needs,” said Jonata Puglia, CEO and co-founder of Leaf Space. “It is no longer necessary for satellite operators to spend time and resources building their own infrastructure, Leaf Space’s flexible and cost efficient solutions allow operators to focus on their missions, providing optimal value to customers.”

About Leaf Space

Leaf Space is pioneering the concept of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) for forward-thinking satellite and launch operators around the world. Since its inception in 2014, Leaf Space has focused on developing the highest quality ground station services and technology with the goal of creating the most efficient and valuable ground segment solutions available on the modern space market. Leaf Space is based in Lomazzo, Italy and is funded by RedSeed Ventures, Whysol Investments, and Primo Space. For more information, please visit: leaf.space.

Media Contact

Sarah Nickell

sarah@nickellcommunications.com 

Leaf Space Contact

Sara Lissoni

sara.lissoni@leaf.space

Erika Ermoli

erika.ermoli@leaf.space

October 14,2021 — Leaf Space, a leading provider of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) solutions, announced today that the company is adding five ground stations to the company’s global Leaf Line Network. The new stations will be installed in West and South Australia, British Columbia, Iceland and Bulgaria further increasing Leaf Space’s capability to provide GSaaS solutions to its growing list of customers.

The new ground stations will provide Leaf Space customers with additional global coverage, increasing capacity, decreasing latency and offering new strategic regional placement, like the company’s first station in Canada.

“We set a goal at the beginning of the year to double our global network, and we’re very proud of the work we’ve done to reach that goal,” said Jonata Puglia, CEO and co-founder of Leaf Space.
“Our customers are looking for reliable, flexible and cost efficient solutions that give them the ability to extract data and communicate with their space-based assets frequently and easily. By further expanding our global network, we are continuing to add value to the services we provide to support important space missions.”

Leaf Space will now operate 15 ground stations globally. The company’s new station in Iceland adds another high northern latitude station along with the existing station in Northern Scotland. The stations in Bulgaria, Canada and Australia offer additional diversity in the mid-latitude network, decreasing the risk of interference, band saturation and overlapping.

“With these additions and those we’ve planned to activate by Q1 2022, we’ll be able to support any kind of LEO orbit including SSO, mid-inclination and equatorial with at least one pass per orbit,” added Puglia. “That is a tremendous asset to our customers and a differentiator for us.”

About Leaf Space
Leaf Space is pioneering the concept of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) for forwardthinking satellite and launch operators around the world. Since its inception in 2014, Leaf Space has focused on developing the highest quality ground station services and technology with the goal of creating the most efficient and valuable ground segment solutions available on the modern space market. Leaf Space is based in Lomazzo, Italy and is funded by RedSeed Ventures, Whysol Investments, and Primo Space. For more information, please visit: leaf.space.

Media Contact
Sarah Nickell
sarah@nickellcommunications.com

Leaf Space Contact
Erika Ermoli
erika.ermoli@leaf.space
Sara Lissoni
sara.lissoni@leaf.space

MILAN, July 28, 2021 Leaf Space, a leading provider of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) solutions, announced today that the company is progressing with the launch phase of a new innovative use of telemedicine via satellite for home monitoring of patients with COVID-19 as part of the CARES project led by the company and co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).

CARES is a set of medical devices connected to a smartphone, which collects patient vitals using medical software and adds those vitals to a database remotely. This database is accessible by a doctor directly from a web browser and is designed by project partner H&S to provide comprehensive, almost real-time data with ease. H&S’s Health Platform is also enabled to trigger an alert system if the monitored patient’s vitals are recorded outside of the safe range and provides options for management including contacting the patient or even sending an ambulance.

“The unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has saturated the emergency departments of European hospitals and is creating a huge stress on the screening processes,” said Arnaud Runge, medical engineer at ESA. “To respond to this unprecedented effort to contain and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have offered to support European companies in developing their best ideas and proposing effective solutions to respond to this crisis, evidencing the contribution that space can bring in these circumstances. A fast-track approach has been put in place to respond as quickly as possible to the impellent needs of citizens and institutions.”

The pilot trial of the CARES project is currently ongoing in collaboration with Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Erba, Molinette in Torino and Villa Gioia in Sora, where discharged and recovering COVID-19 patients can recover from the comfort of their homes while having the confidence that their progress and vitals are being consistently and reliably monitored by medical professionals.

“We are so grateful to have the opportunity to work with ESA on this incredible project, and we hope that this technology can bring much needed support and peace of mind to people who have suffered so much,” said Jonata Puglia, co-founder and CEO of Leaf Space. “We see a massive opportunity to connect satellite communications with telemedicine technology and hope that our continued work with the CARES project can serve as an example of what can be achieved and applied to so many patients and healthcare systems around the world. We are eager to continue to explore the possibilities of what this technology can do to increase access to healthcare worldwide.”

By integrating the remote monitoring health platform with satellite telecommunication infrastructure to guarantee the service everywhere, Leaf Space’s support of the CARES system allows patients without reliable internet based on ground-based infrastructure to receive the remote monitoring and care that is incredibly important, especially for those patients recovering from COVID-19. This same model can be applied to patients with chronic diseases, rehab processes and any type of condition that require strict monitoring and multiple medical examinations anywhere in the world.

Leaf Space’s satellite backed telecommunication structure ensures capturing and distributing the signals transmitted by the telemedicine systems to the satellite and back to Earth at the hospital are reliable, fast and compliant with current GDPR and patient privacy laws.

About Leaf Space
Leaf Space is pioneering the concept of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) for forward-thinking satellite and launch operators around the world. Since its inception in 2014, Leaf Space has focused on developing the highest quality ground station services and technology with the goal of creating the most efficient and valuable ground segment solutions available on the modern space market. Leaf Space is based in Lomazzo, Italy and is funded by RedSeed Ventures, Whysol Investments, and Primo Space. For more information, please visit: leaf.space.

About H&S
H&S was founded in 1989 in Piacenza (Italy) and since January 2020 is part of the E-Health Multinational Compu Group Medical.
H&S creates software and services for home healthcare, monitoring and collecting patient vital parameters, with advanced certified telemedicine and smart compliance solutions. It has national and internationals customers.
www.hes.it

About European Space Agency
The European Space Agency is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA is an international organization with 22 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programs and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country.

ESA Space Solutions aims at reaching commercial exploitation of space assets, data and capabilities addressing incubation, proving technical feasibility and business development. This includes the development of operational services for a wide range of users through the combination of different systems, and support in creating viable companies as well as to existing companies.

TAMPA, Fla. — Leaf Space has added three more ground stations to its managed network service, helping the Italian company support its largest number of satellite customers on a single launch in an upcoming mission.

Adding sites in Sri Lanka, the Azores and Scotland increases Leaf Space’s total ground station count to 12, which will support 14 satellites from six customers due to launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-2 ride-share mission. SpaceX recently said it plans to announce a new date for this launch, which had been slated for June 25, to take additional time for prelaunch checkouts.

Giovanni Pandolfi, Leaf Space’s co-founder and chief technology officer, said the company is on track to activate three more ground stations in the third quarter of this year amid the small satellite industry’s rapid expansion.

The company provides ground segment services for satellite and rocket launches, early spacecraft operations, ongoing mission needs and space asset decommissioning.

“Expanding our ground station network provides our customers with more coverage points, allowing more frequent and strategic communications with satellites on orbit providing them with more control, flexibility and the ability to scale quickly without additional operational or infrastructure costs,” Pandolfi told SpaceNews.

Having more ground stations is particularly useful during the launch and early operations phase of a ride-share mission, he added, because it reduces “the time between launch, satellite identification and commissioning, which ultimately allows customers to start using their spacecraft faster.”

The new ground station in Sri Lanka also gives Leaf Space capabilities in the equatorial orbit for the first time, distributing its medium-latitude network to mitigate the risk of interference, among other advantages that provide customers more capacity with fewer antennas.

Pandolfi said the new station on the remote Shetland Islands in Northern Scotland boosts capacity for sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits.

“It is also a very RF-clean environment, which of course is favorable for satellite operations,” he said.

Founded in 2014, Leaf Space announced plans March 24 for a U.S. office to serve government and commercial markets.

Its customers include Swiss startup Astrocast, which has five satellites on the Transporter-2 mission and recently unveiled plans to go public to expand the constellation.