EDGX, a Belgium-based spacetech startup, has raised €2.3 million in seed funding to accelerate the commercialization of Sterna, its onboard AI computer designed for satellite constellations.
The round was co-led by imec.istart future fund and the Flanders Future Tech Fund, managed by the Flemish investment firm PMV. Additional backing came from existing investor imec.istart, Europe's highest-ranked university-affiliated accelerator.
Alongside the funding, EDGX also signed a multi-unit contract worth €1.1 million with an undisclosed satellite operator. The deal includes a scheduled in-orbit demonstration aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch in February 2026, signaling clear demand for the company's AI edge computing solution.
Founder and CEO Nick Destrycker noted the growing traction: "Customers aren't waiting for flight validation, they're signing now. With a full launch manifest, secured commercial contracts, and our first mission set for Falcon 9, this funding enables us to scale to meet demand for real-time intelligence from space."
EDGX is tackling a growing challenge in the space industry: data overload. As satellite missions become more complex and generate greater volumes of data, the traditional model of storing and forwarding data to Earth for processing is showing its limits.
Kris Vandenberk, managing partner at imec.istart future fund, highlighted this shift: "The space industry is hitting a fundamental bottleneck; we're generating massive amounts of data in orbit but still using outdated 'store and forward' architectures. EDGX is solving this by bringing AI-powered edge computing directly into space, enabling satellites to analyse and act on data in real-time rather than waiting for ground processing."
The newly raised capital will be used to scale manufacturing, grow the team, and expand partnerships with satellite operators. EDGX is also focused on securing flight heritage and ramping up production ahead of the 2026 in-orbit demonstration.
With a launch-ready product and strong customer interest, the startup plans to accelerate onboarding of new clients and grow its global presence, particularly in markets prioritizing low-latency, autonomous data processing from space.
Founded in Belgium, EDGX develops high-performance edge AI computers purpose-built for space missions. Its flagship product, EDGX Sterna, is powered by NVIDIA technology and designed to run demanding algorithms directly in orbit.
The system integrates the company’s SpaceFeather software stack, which includes a space-hardened Linux OS, autonomous health monitoring tools, fault detection and recovery features, and a framework that allows satellites to deploy software upgrades post-launch.
The combination of hardware acceleration and software resilience is designed to support satellites that need to make decisions independently — whether for Earth observation, defense, or telecom applications.
The round brings together both new and returning investors. imec.istart, which also participated in earlier rounds, is widely recognized for supporting promising deep tech startups in Europe. The Flanders Future Tech Fund, which backs strategic technologies in the region, adds institutional strength to EDGX’s investor base.
