ESA title
Φ-lab

Invest

Φ-lab / Invest

We facilitate access to transformational innovation investment on your business.

Our aim is to fill the gap between your labs bright idea and the market. The Φ-lab Invest Office provides you with equity-free co-funding, technical and business support, together with promoting you and your idea to succeed among investors and in the market.

We listen to you, and if your idea is compelling, we can link it with other ideas or put you in contact with the right people and organisations within our community to increase your chances of success.

We also invest in your business with ESA funding and we help you find the right private investor in the market. All while offering you the huge ESA technical competence in Earth Observation.

In this role, ESA behaves as a de-risking partner and facilitator by stimulating competitive growth of the economic operator. ESA is not your end customer, but your partner.

We work through 3 actions, the Φ-lab Community, the Φ-lab InCubed co-invest programme and the Invest Action.

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φ-lab Community

Fosters industry-to-industry and industry-to-academia synergies and cooperation to accelerate adoption of innovative business solutions.

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InCubed icon

φ-lab co-invest programme

Offers Private Public Partnership investment opportunities to support and develop innovative and commercially viable products and services in Earth Observation. It encourages high-risk/high-potential developments mitigating their technical and financial risks. Currently implemented via the ESA InCubed+ Programme.

ESA InCubed programme
  • What is it: an Industry-led PPP programme in Earth Observation
  • Focus: develop innovative & commercially viable products and services
  • Wide scope: Φ-lab Invest Office co-fund anything from building satellites to data platforms, flight HW and SW and innovative business models
  • Who: Φ-lab Invest Office, National Delegations, Industry
Focus infographic
Zero-equity co-funding
Personalised guidance from world-class technical expertise & commercial support
ESA stamp of credibility
Access to ESA Earth observation facilities and to the ɸ-lab
Membership of the InCubed community with access to networks and dedicated events
InCubed+ Program arw
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Invest Action

The Invest action aims to accelerate access to risk capital for innovation risk funding in our ecosystem, particularly start-ups and SMEs by:

  • Acting as EO technical and business experts, the “Φ-lab stamp”
  • Promoting business cases in the investor community
  • Reducing investors and industry venture risks
  • Educating and facilitating start-ups access to funding tools
  • Attracting community of investors, business angels, VC and Investment banks in the Φ-lab community