# Bremen's Marble Imaging Raises EUR 6M From Cherry Ventures as It Readies Germany's First Commercial Very-High-Resolution Satellite
> Marble Imaging raises EUR 6M led by Cherry Ventures to build Germany's first commercial very-high-resolution satellite constellation, launching early 2027.
- **Author:** Prashant Jagtap
- **Published:** 2026-11-09
- **Updated:** 2026-11-09
- **Category:** Startups
- **Editorial type:** news
- **Topics:** defence-tech, german-startups, seed-funding
- **Canonical URL:** https://www.todaysstartupnews.com/startups/marble-imaging-raises-6m-cherry-ventures-sovereign-satellite-imagery-germany
## Key takeaways
- Bremen-based Marble Imaging has raised EUR 6 million led by Cherry Ventures, taking its seed round to EUR 11.3 million and total equity raised to about EUR 12 million
- Its first satellite, Marble Sat-1 (Morgana), ships to California in December for a launch on SpaceX planned for February
- The company says it has more than 10 customers, revenue in the several-million-euro range and a contract pipeline above EUR 20 million
- It has bought eight HyImpulse launch vehicles for a planned European launch and aims to have 30 satellites in orbit by 2030
- Non-dilutive funding from DLR and the European Space Agency exceeds EUR 10 million
Marble Imaging, a German startup based in Bremen that is building a commercial Earth observation constellation, has raised an additional EUR 6 million in a round led by Cherry Ventures. The funding comes as Europe looks for more independence in space-based imagery, and it is described as the second close of the company's seed round.

The first close was a EUR 5.3 million seed round led by High-Tech Gründerfonds in December 2025, so the total seed round now stands at EUR 11.3 million. Together with a EUR 650,000 pre-seed round in May 2024, Marble has raised around EUR 12 million in equity. The company has also received more than EUR 10 million in non-dilutive funding from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Marble was founded in Bremen by Robert Hook, who is chief executive, Alexander Epp, the chief commercial officer, Dr Gopika Suresh, the CSO, and Dr Raul Scarlat, the lead instrument scientist. The company aims to provide up to hourly Earth observation data and analytics for time-critical insights. It positions very-high-resolution imagery as a core input for security and commercial intelligence. According to the company, Europe and many of its partners depend on non-European providers, which leaves them vulnerable to being cut off from coverage over key areas of interest, as happened in Ukraine and around the Strait of Hormuz.

Hook, a co-founder, said that better decisions require immediate and actionable data, which Europe and its partners currently lack, and that Cherry's backing will let Marble close that gap more quickly. He added that rising demand drove the round and that the company wanted to grow its constellation quickly, which requires capital.

Marble says it is building Germany's first commercial very-high-resolution satellite constellation. The first satellite, Marble Sat-1, nicknamed Morgana, was built on a platform from Reflex Aerospace, a Munich and Berlin company. It is designed to capture imagery at up to 0.7 metre spatial resolution in the visible and near-infrared spectrum, and it will also gather data in the shortwave infrared. Marble Sat-1 is fully funded and has completed pre-flight testing.

Hook said the satellite has completed all its testing. It will be shipped to California in December for a planned launch with SpaceX in February. It will then go through a six-month in-orbit demonstration, during which Marble will test a laser data link from Odysseus Space, before commercial operations begin.

Hook explained that Marble will keep using SpaceX for its current launch and for next year, before moving to European launches, because launch opportunities from Europe are very limited. Tech Funding News reported that Europe had fewer than 10 orbital launches in 2025.

HyImpulse, a rocket company based in Neuenstadt that raised more than EUR 50 million in September 2026, is meant to provide the European route. Hook said Marble has bought eight HyImpulse launch vehicles. The HyImpulse SL1 orbital rocket has not yet flown, and a second flight of its smaller SR75 rocket is due before the end of 2026, ahead of the SL1 launch. Under the plan, Marble would have 30 satellites by 2030, with its first HyImpulse launch now due in February 2027.

The company is also building an AI analytics platform that combines data from a variety of sources into insights for defence, civil security and critical infrastructure. Its current analysis services include object detection for situational intelligence, terrain analysis and trafficability assessment, coastal asset monitoring and land cover classification, and the company says the data will also support decisions on crisis and disaster management and the energy transition. The customer portal that delivers the data and analytics is already live. Development of the next generation of satellites has begun with partners, including a French supplier for the key payload.

Hook said revenue has grown from last year and is now in the several-million-euro range. Marble has more than 10 customers, including several significant government clients that typically sign multi-million-euro contracts, as well as commercial users of the analytics. It has data contracts in the pipeline worth more than EUR 20 million and expects several more over the coming months. A major commercial contract for critical infrastructure and civilian security analytics is due very shortly. The team has grown from 17 to just under 40.

Filip Dames, founding partner at Cherry Ventures, said Europe needs its own eyes in space and described Marble as using AI to turn pixels into answers for government and defence customers. He said the product Marble will deliver does not yet exist in Europe.

The market is competitive and well funded. Planet Labs and Vantor are the established US players. In Europe, ICEYE raised EUR 450 million in June 2026 at a valuation well over EUR 10 billion, Madrid-based Xoople secured $130 million in April 2026, and satellite maker Open Cosmos UK raised EUR 300 million in September 2026 in a round led by Lightrock. European defence, security and resilience startups raised a record $8.7 billion in 2025, up 55 percent, according to Dealroom and the NATO Innovation Fund.
## Sources
- [marble-imaging.de](https://marble-imaging.de)