French SpaceTech startup Look Up lands €50 million to tackle space collisions with radar tech

Look Up, a Toulouse-based startup innovating orbital safety and space surveillance, has raised €50 million to expand its radar network and space traffic management services globally.

This Series A round, one of the largest in European SpaceTech over the past decade, includes equity, debt, and public grants – exclusively from European financial players. The €24 million equity portion is led by ETF Partners, with participation from Leadwind (KFund), the EU’s EIC Fund, and returning investors MIG Capital, Karista, and Expansion.

Additionally, the European Union is supporting the expansion with €15 million in non-dilutive funding, and several banking institutions have joined the round through debt financing.

According to Michel Friedling, Co-founder of Look Up: “Look Up stands out with a holistic vision and a unique strategy. Our goal is to become a global player in space safety and operations. This funding will enable us to continue deploying our radar network worldwide and enhance our digital solutions to address the escalating challenge of an increasingly congested and unstable orbital environment. It also strengthens our positioning in a sector poised for consolidation at both European and global levels.”

Founded in 2022 by Michel Friedling, former head of the French Space Command, and Juan Carlos Dolado Perez, ex-Chief of Space Surveillance at CNES, Look Up is building a global radar network—SORASYS—to monitor everything from functioning satellites to centimetre-scale debris orbiting Earth.

With over 60 employees as of June 2025, the team plans to reach 100 by year’s end.

The company, which launched just three years ago, is already operating a high-precision radar in France and will soon install two more in French Polynesia.

The funding will be used to deploy new radar units, launch a space operations centre, accelerate the company’s international push, and validate its “Space-Operations-as-a-Service” model with an in-orbit demonstration. Look Up’s full-stack solution also includes ATLAS2, an EU-backed programme for automated low-Earth orbit safety.

Juan Carlos Dolado, Co-founder, echoed this integrated approach: “Look Up’s technology vision is built on three pillars: first, the ability to detect orbital objects 24/7 with high revisit rates thanks to our radar network; second, the ability to analysse and understand the space domain in real time through our SYNAPSE platform; and third, the ability to enable safe and sustainable space operations. This integrated vision allows us to meet the rising demand for coordinated space traffic management from both public and private operators, ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities.”

While 90% of current low-Earth orbit tracking is conducted by the United States, Look Up’s expansion points to Europe’s strategic ambitions to reclaim sovereignty in space surveillance. With a radar in France already functional and Polynesia on the horizon, Look Up aims to furhter Europe’s role in the domain of orbital infrastructure.

Rémy de Tonnac, Senior Partner at ETF Partners, emphasised the mission-driven nature of the investment: “ETF Partners is proud to support Europe’s emerging leader in sustainable space technologies. We firmly believe that in order to enable a sustainable earth we must ensure a sustainable space. By addressing the increasing risks of collisions and debris management, Look Up is creating a more secure orbital environment where satellites can safely operate and become insurable assets. This is a critical foundation for a sustainable space economy, balancing environmental responsibility and technological progress”

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