Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The Berlin-based climate technology startup has developed a micro-LiDAR and SWIR imager small enough to fly on a nanosatellite, and claims it can detect a methane leak the size of a leaking car from orbit.
AIRMOA Berlin and Luxembourg-based startup that builds greenhouse gas monitoring technology from space, has closed a €5 million seed round to fund the launch of its first satellite in 2027 and expand its existing air operations in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.
The round was led by Ananda Impact Ventures, a Munich-based impact venture capital that manages approximately €200 million across four funds. New investors joining the round include Unconventional Ventures, kopa ventures, Desai Ventures and Hypernova/New Venture Securities.
Two EQT partners, Matthias Fackler (partner and head of EQT’s infrastructure advisory team in Europe) and Francesco Starace (partner of EQT’s infrastructure advisory team and former CEO of Enel), invested as individual strategic investors, not through an EQT fund. Existing backers Antler, Findus Ventures, E2MC and Pi Labs also participated.
AIRMO’s core technology is a sensor payload that combines a scanning shortwave infrared (SWIR) spectrometer with a proprietary micro-LiDAR system. The company says this is the first time a sensor of this type and power has been miniaturized for deployment on a small satellite.
The LiDAR component corrects for atmospheric variables, aerosols, and wind patterns that degrade the accuracy of dedicated spectrometer systems. Together, AIRMO claims the combination offers approximately twice the accuracy of existing satellite monitoring solutions, enabling the detection of methane plumes from single sources as small as a leaking vehicle, from 500 kilometers high.
The first satellite, built in collaboration with the Bulgarian manufacturer EnduroSat and its ESPA-class FRAME-15 platform, is scheduled for launch in early 2027.
It is designed to serve as the basis for a constellation of 12 satellites, with commercial data products available from first light to oil and gas operators, financial institutions, regulators and NGOs.
AIRMO was founded in 2022 by Daria Stepanova, described by Startbase as a space scientist and serial founder who has overseen several satellite launches.
AIRMO’s website lists a CTO with 15 years in space optical instruments, a senior space optics engineer with 28 years in optoelectronics and ESA LiDAR systems, and a chairman who co-founded South Pole, the carbon markets consultancy that became a unicorn.
The company has the support of the European Space Agency through its InCubed Programwhich funded a €3.7 million deal as part of AIRMO’s €5.2 million pre-seed round in 2023 (led by Findus Venture; Ananda Impact Ventures also participated in that previous round).
Methane is estimated to account for about 30% of current global warming, but facility-level emissions remain substantially underestimated. Regulatory pressure is increasing: the EU Methane Regulation now requires gas importers to report emissions, and the OGMP 2.0 framework establishes a new basis for site-level measurement that many existing monitoring approaches cannot meet.
AIRMO’s technology is already deployed commercially in drones and aircraft, and Uniper, Total and ESCE are customers using the system to monitor energy infrastructure.
CEO Stepanova described the seed round as allowing AIRMO to move from validation to continuous monitoring, and framed the satellite launch as a step toward the company’s stated long-term goal of monitoring millions of energy assets around the world.
Alina Bassi, director of Ananda Impact Ventures, said reducing methane leaks is one of the most effective short-term levers to decarbonize the energy sector, noting that Ananda has supported the team since its inception.
The new capital will also support a local presence in the MENA region, where AIRMO already has an office in Abu Dhabi (AIRMO MENA, based at Hub71 on Al Maryah Island).
