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. The company 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.

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." The Dauria website is located at: at this direct link.