Round led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock will expand HawkEye 360’s leadership delivering radio frequency geospatial intelligence to government customers
HERNDON, Va.– HawkEye 360 Inc., the world’s leading defense technology company for space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics, announced today it has closed $58 million in new funding. The funding will be used to develop new space systems and expand analytics that support high-value defense missions. This Series D-1 round was led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) with additional funding provided by Manhattan Venture Partners and existing investors including Insight Partners, NightDragon, Strategic Development Fund (SDF), Razor’s Edge, Alumni Ventures, and Adage Capital.
“HawkEye 360 continues to make the world a safer place through advanced RF analytics – including addressing maritime, environmental, and national security needs,” said HawkEye 360 CEO John Serafini. “We’ve learned much over the past four years delivering data to the most demanding customers in the world. We’ll use this funding to drive our next steps in innovation. It speaks volumes that these leading investment firms are confident in the future of RF geospatial intelligence as a critical defense technology.”
“We invest in first-class startups that have proven innovative technology, where we can come alongside to accelerate their growth,” said Matt Singer, Managing Director, BlackRock. “Governments and commercial customers are asking for better intelligence and, with its full chain of control from orbit to analytics, Hawkeye 360 is leading the way for this new category of RF space-based data.”
HawkEye 360 has 21 satellites in orbit and plans to move to a new Block 3 satellite architecture starting with Cluster 14 and beyond. The company is also investing further in artificial intelligence, data fusion, and multi-intelligence orchestration to better extract value from the large amount of RF data being collected. The goal is to simplify analysis for its customers.
“HawkEye 360 has disrupted what used to be a static defense intelligence domain,” said Jared Carmel, Managing Partner and General Partner of Manhattan Venture Partners. “The company is the quintessential example of how a commercial operation could service the intelligence needs of the U.S. and our allies. They have built a growing market with government customers and are proof that private-sector innovation and leadership will help enable peace through strength, deter future conflict, and ensure global stability.”
WilmerHale acted as legal counsel for HawkEye 360 in connection with the transaction.
Goodwin Proctor LLP acted as legal counsel for BlackRock in connection with the transaction.
For more information about HawkEye 360, please visit www.he360.com.
About HawkEye 360
HawkEye 360 is a defense technology leader providing global knowledge of human activity and trends derived from revolutionary radio frequency (RF) geospatial intelligence. The company’s innovative space-based technology was developed to detect, characterize, and geolocate a broad range of RF signals. These RF data and analytics provide an information advantage allowing analysts to detect the first glimpse of suspicious behavior, trace the first sign of adversarial activity, and reveal the first sighting of ships attempting to vanish. HawkEye 360’s RF intelligence presents a quicker grasp of critical events and patterns of life, providing early warnings to drive tip-and-cue efforts, and providing leaders the insights needed to make decisions with confidence. HawkEye 360 is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.
