FOSSA Systems is a Madrid-based deep tech scale-up providing satellite connectivity services to remote and inaccessible areas through its constellation of nanosatellites. Founded in 2020, this Spanish company is making IoT connectivity accessible globally by leveraging standardised low-power technologies and in-house developed satellite infrastructure.

FOSSA Systems is a member of the EIC Scaling Club's New Space group. 

Bridging connectivity gaps with satellite IoT

While 80% of the planet lacks cellular coverage, industries worldwide need reliable asset monitoring in remote locations. FOSSA Systems addresses this challenge by deploying a constellation of nanosatellites that enable direct-to-device communication using standardised LPWAN technologies like LoRa and NB-IoT. This approach provides backward compatibility with existing terrestrial IoT deployments, allowing companies to monitor assets globally without replacing hardware.

The company's solution works through a straightforward process: sensors collect asset data, which is transmitted either directly to satellites or through FOSSA's IoT gateway. Satellites store the information and downlink it when passing over ground stations, where it's distributed to end users via API and integrated with IoT processing tools. This enables industries – like oil and gas, logistics, utilities and energy, agriculture, infrastructure, and construction – to transform raw data into actionable insights for smarter decision-making.

Beyond commercial IoT services, FOSSA provides dedicated satellites and constellations to businesses, governments, and institutions requiring sovereign infrastructure for IoT, signals intelligence, or tactical communications. The company's end-to-end capabilities span satellite design and manufacturing, testing, ground stations, payload integration, operations, and launch brokerage – offering complete space missions with deployment timeframes significantly faster than traditional industry standards.

Building from open-source roots

FOSSA Systems began in 2018 as a non-profit organisation founded with the objective of democratising access to space and promoting IoT adoption. A global team of contributors developed FOSSASat-1 as an open-source LoRa IoT repeater, with the inaugural launch sponsored by Everis Aerospace & Defense (later acquired by NTT Data). The organisation made significant contributions to open-source satellite software and hardware, collaborating with developers and engineers worldwide through GitHub.

The company was formally established in Spain on 13 July, 2020, by Julián Fernández as CEO and Vicente González as CTO. They recognised the critical need for affordable worldwide IoT connectivity after seeing gaps in remote asset management capabilities. The founding vision centered on providing accessible internet connections to those in underserved areas.

Today, González takes on the role of COO, and FOSSA's leadership team includes Sergio Sarasola as CTO, along with key executives managing business development, sales, and operations. The team of over 30 professionals combines expertise in satellite engineering, telecommunications, and industrial IoT applications, enabling the company to deliver transformative space solutions.

Rapid constellation deployment and industry recognition

FOSSA Systems has achieved remarkable deployment velocity since its formal establishment. In 2022, the company became the European firm to launch the most nanosatellites into space (satellites under 1kg), totaling 13 through two SpaceX Transporter missions. The company has now launched over 21 satellites and transferred more than 60,000 messages, demonstrating operational capability at scale.

The company is currently deploying an 80-satellite constellation designed to drive mass adoption of satellite-enabled IoT through interoperable and standardised connectivity. This infrastructure provides global coverage with real-time data access, addressing the fundamental challenge that traditional satellite IoT solutions faced with proprietary technologies and high costs.

FOSSA's achievements have earned recognition from multiple European entities. The company was named Best Startup of 2022 by El Español, Most Innovative Startup by Spanish business journal Expansión, and Best Startup by Alhambra Ventures. The FEINDEF Foundation honored FOSSA with awards for entrepreneurship in defense and security, reflecting the dual-use potential of their technology.

Driving Europe's space sovereignty forward

The founding team deliberately built FOSSA in Spain to demonstrate that European companies can compete globally in the rapidly evolving space industry. By providing sovereign access to satellite infrastructure and ensuring data remains under customer control with advanced encryption and security protocols, FOSSA addresses growing concerns about space independence and operational security.

Through its membership in the EIC Scaling Club, FOSSA continues strengthening connections within Europe's deep tech ecosystem.

About the EIC Scaling Club

The EIC Scaling Club is a curated community where 120+ European deep tech scale-ups with the potential to build world-class businesses and solve major global challenges come together with investors, corporate innovators and other industry stakeholders to spur growth.

The top 120+ European deep tech companies will be carefully selected from a pool of high-growth scale-ups that have benefitted from EIC financial schemes, other European and national innovation programmes, and beyond.

The EIC Scaling Club is an EIC-funded initiative run in partnership by Tech Tour, Bpifrance (EuroQuity), Hello Tomorrow, Tech.eu (Webrazzi), EurA and IESE Business School.

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