I2BF Global Ventures Invests $20M in Dauria Aerospace

NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- I2BF Global Ventures, a leading global technology investment firm, today announced a $20 million Series B investment in Dauria Aerospace, a global satellite services company involved in the manufacturing of micro and nano satellites and the development of machine-to-machine wireless communication and earth observation technologies.

Dauria Aerospace was founded in 2011, by experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts with backgrounds from NASA, RapidEye and the Russian space program, with the aim of developing low-cost infrastructure for rapid monitoring of ground assets and activity. It integrates low-cost satellite constellations with a unique cloud-based platform called CloudEO that provides an advanced framework and easy access to GEO-application developers. The production start of the first satellite is due this year with support from Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency.

I2BF Global Ventures' $20 million investment will be used for working capital to serve existing contracts, technology development and new satellite platforms.

"I2BF sees a rising opportunity for scarce resources management and discovery through innovative space applications. Our investment in Dauria Aerospace reinforces our intention to grow our exposure to this exciting new frontier," said Ilya Golubovich, founding partner of I2BF Global Ventures. "The aerospace sector is ripe for brilliant entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists to build off the foundation that national programs have put in place. With facilities in California's NASA Ames Research Park, DLR incubator in Munich, Germany and in Innograd Skolkovo Moscow, Russia, Dauria represents the next generation of global aerospace startups, collaborating and working across borders with applications that can directly benefit areas such as agriculture, disaster prevention, water control and resource management."

In 2012, the global satellite industry saw $190 billion in revenue, broken down by satellite services, launch industry, satellite manufacturing and ground equipment — all of which are subsectors that Dauria Aerospace's operations touch upon. 

"In the two years since Dauria Aerospace was founded, we've reached several key milestones in technology development and have successfully secured contracts and established our global presence," said Mikhail Kokorich, president of Dauria Aerospace. "We are confident that with our new partnership with I2BF Global Ventures and the invested capital, we will succeed in reaching our amplified goals in the next few years."

About I2BF Global Ventures
Established in 2005, I2BF Global Ventures is an international technology focused venture capital firm with a global investment mandate. The mission of I2BF Global Ventures is to seek out innovative and competitive companies, targeting sectors and technologies it believes can lead the path to a "Brighter Future". Since the first portfolio company investment in 2006, I2BF Global Ventures has successfully completed 24 transactions, and manages over $195 million across four venture capital vehicles. In keeping with its worldwide investment focus, further to the team in New York, I2BF Global Ventures retains a team of technology and sector experts in London, Moscow, Dubai and Astana to ensure a truly global venture capital strategy and a hands-on management approach. Visit www.I2BF.com for more information.

About Dauria Aerospace  
Dauria Aerospace develops and manufactures the new generation of low cost, small satellites. The deep reduction of costs combined with the enhanced performance capabilities offered by the new product makes constellations of many satellites financially viable, thus enabling operational services and creating new applications. This has been achieved by utilizing the state of art terrestrial microelectronic and micro-system-technologies.

Based on Dauria's satellite technologies, the company is planning to deploy constellations of various earth observation and communications satellites to provide frequent vegetation monitoring for precision farming, traffic management, dynamic urban management and polar broadband services. The company works closely with the national governments on the joint financing of these space projects making it possible for the private seed investment to cover a significantly larger range of services. These services will be further enhanced by making them available in a unique service eco-system where they can be combined with other satellite resources and advanced software applications through a cloud based platform - CloudEO. This will foster a new era where space applications enter humans' daily lives. Visit www.dauriaspace.com for more information.

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SOURCE I2BF Global Ventures