Portugal’s Space Sector Gains Momentum with Open Cosmos Acquisition

In a strategic move that strengthens Europe’s technological sovereignty and signals Portugal’s rising prominence in the space economy, Open Cosmos has announced the acquisition of Connected, a pioneering Portuguese startup specializing in standard, space-based IoT connectivity. The deal, whose financial details remain undisclosed, marks one of the fastest and most successful exits in Europe’s space tech history.

By Paulo Lopes, in Business · 10 Jul 2025, 07:01 · 0 Comments

Credits: Facebook; Author: open.cosmos.space;

Open Cosmos, which designs, builds, and operates end-to-end satellite missions with operations in the UK, Spain, and Greece, gains through this acquisition a significant boost to its long-term industrial footprint in Portugal and its capabilities in scalable, flexible connectivity infrastructure. Connected’s technology, which seamlessly integrates with satellites from third parties, will play a central role in advancing Open Cosmos' flagship initiative: the OpenConstellation, a shared satellite infrastructure designed to meet institutional and commercial demands across Europe and beyond.

Founded in 2023, Connected has rapidly developed a proprietary communications platform for space-based IoT connectivity. Leveraging standard terrestrial protocols such as 5G NB-IoT and mioty, the company has dramatically reduced the cost and complexity of satellite communications. The result: a commercial operational platform with wide-ranging applications, from infrastructure monitoring and emergency response to ocean surveillance, smart agriculture, and off-grid renewable energy systems.

In just two years, Connected launched pilots across Europe and formed strategic alliances with international partners including EchoStar Mobile and Fraunhofer. The company was initially accelerated by ESA-BIC at Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN) in Coimbra and later incubated at UPTEC in Porto. It was also selected for the Scaling-Up Program at Unicorn Factory Lisboa and the prestigious SpaceFounders Accelerator.

Its trajectory was bolstered by a record-breaking €2 million pre-seed funding round co-led by Shilling VC, Iberis Capital, and FundBox, with participation from Octopus Ventures, Amena Ventures, and other notable investors.

As a result of the acquisition, Connected becomes a dedicated business unit within Open Cosmos, focused on IoT connectivity. All 22 Connected team members will integrate into the existing Open Cosmos Atlantic division in Portugal, which already employs 18 people. The combined Portuguese operation becomes a critical hub within the company’s 200-strong global workforce.

This move is part of a broader investment strategy by Open Cosmos in Portugal, where it has already injected over €15 million. That figure is expected to surpass €50 million over the next three years, driven by the launch of a new satellite factory at the IPN in Coimbra. By the end of 2025, this facility will assemble and operate three satellites engineered in Portugal all equipped with Connected’s communications technology to deliver integrated Earth observation data and IoT connectivity from orbit.

Open Cosmos, which has maintained a 100% success rate across its orbital missions and has raised over €50 million to date, views the Portuguese expansion as central to its European growth strategy. The acquisition of Connected is not just a merger of capabilities it's a signal to the European space sector: Portugal is no longer on the sidelines; it’s becoming a leading player in shaping the future of satellite connectivity.

Paulo Lopes is a multi-talent Portuguese citizen who made his Master of Economics in Switzerland and studied law at Lusófona in Lisbon - CEO of Casaiberia in Lisbon and Algarve.