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Category: Portfolio News

Portfolio company news for the General Public

Atlas Space Operations Secures $26M Series B Funding Led by Mitsui

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Atlas Space Operations, an NMA Portfolio Company, Secures $26M Series B Funding Led by Mitsui

Traverse City, Michigan – August 26th, 2022 (BUSINESS WIRE)

ATLAS Space Operations, a global leader in cloud-based space communications solutions, today announced $26 million in Series B Funding led by Mitsui & Co., Ltd. The investment round reaffirms confidence in ATLAS’ Ground Software as a Service™ (G-SaaS) approach as a critical solution within the space economy.

The funding round is a part of strategic initiatives for both Mitsui and ATLAS. For ATLAS, this investment accelerates its plan for international growth, as well as its Ground Software as a Service business model. This is ATLAS’ industry disruptive software (Freedom™) solution which integrates complex disparate networks for government and commercial clients across a federated network.

For Mitsui, its investment in ATLAS further demonstrates the corporation’s commitment to its space portfolio. Mitsui has identified an area of focus for innovative companies that provide services to satellite operators. In 2018, Mitsui acquired a minority stake in BlackSky Global followed by an acquisition of Spaceflight, Inc, a U.S. satellite rideshare service provider, in 2020. The investment in ATLAS advances Mitsui’s position in the space industry as one of its new targeted growth areas.

Sean McDaniel, ATLAS Co-founder and CEO, stated, “A strategic partnership with Mitsui validates ATLAS’ position as a global leader in satellite communications services. This investment well capitalizes the company to accelerate growth in key areas of commercial and US government markets for which our services are in high demand. With this new partnership, ATLAS can expand its team to provide enterprise-level Ground Software as a Service solutions for the DoD Hybrid Space Architecture while increasing our market share in the private sector with our low risk, high-end services.”

Kazutomi Shigeeda, General Manager of Space Business Department in Mitsui, stated, “This investment in ATLAS expands our space business as a service provider for satellite operators. We strongly believe that ATLAS Ground Software as a Service can maximize the value of the ground stations and integrate other governmental and commercial ground station networks. In the future, we consider that ATLAS will be able to integrate satellite data relay networks as part of its own network, and it will lead us to the next generation satellite-ground communication infrastructure business. In order for ATLAS to achieve its vision, we will support its growth in collaboration with our space business portfolio and by utilizing Mitsui’s industrial network.”

About ATLAS Space Operations:

ATLAS Space Operations is a leading provider of Ground Software as a Service™ solutions in the space communications industry. ATLAS has been recognized by the World Teleport Association to be in the top three fastest-growing teleport operators in the world for the past two years, and was recognized as the 15th fastest-growing software company in the world in 2020 by Inc. 5000. ATLAS combines the Freedom™ Software Platform and its global antenna network to achieve its mission of connecting humanity through space. To learn more, visit atlasground.com.

About Mitsui & Co., Ltd.:

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (8031: JP) is a global trading and investment company with a diversified business portfolio that spans approximately 63 countries in Asia, Europe, North, Central & South America, The Middle East, Africa, and Oceania. Mitsui has built a strong and diverse core business portfolio covering the Mineral and Metal Resources, Energy, Machinery and Infrastructure, and Chemicals industries. Mitsui has positioned the space business as one of our new growth areas and is working to create new business opportunities with increasing demand for space-related services. For more information on Mitsui & Co’s businesses visit, www.mitsui.com.

ATLAS is a Northern Michigan Angels portfolio company. The investment from Mitsui is joined in this funding round with Beringea, and accompanied by foundational funding from Boomerang Catapult, Rise of the Rest, VCapital, Harmonix, Wakestream, and Grand Ventures.

Contact Information:
Dan Carey
Marketing Director, ATLAS Space Operations
+1 (231) 598-6814 ext 105
dcarey@atlasground.com

The Petoskey News-Review: NMA Concludes 10th Year with Record Investments

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Northern Michigan Angels conclude 10th year with record investments
By: Tess Ware, The Petoskey News-Review – Business January 29, 2022

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The Northern Michigan Angels investment group recently concluded their 10th year investing in the Northern Michigan economy.

In 2021, the organization reached a new single-year record, investing $1.3 million in seven different companies. Most of the organization’s investments
go into technology and other STEM-based companies, which brings programming, engineering jobs, as well as others, to the region. Northern Michigan Angels is a nonprofit investment group that hears pitches from entrepreneurs. They then offer not only money but also expertise to businesses as they begin operations.

Northern Michigan Angels current and new board members welcomed their new executive director on Nov. 4, 2021 at 20Fathoms. Pictured (from left) are Steve Lang, Dave Summers, Jody Trietch, executive director, Deanna Cannon, board chairperson, Jeff Hamilton, Liz VerSchure, Doug Morgenstern and John Zaloudek.

“We want to create jobs, those high tech jobs that will attract some of the children who are graduating and leave the area and don’t feel like they can come back and live in Traverse City,” said Deanna Cannon, board chair, founding member and former executive director of Northern Michigan Angels. In 2011, Cannon saw a need for an organization that would invest in Northern Michigan businesses and began to look into angel investing. An angel investor is a high-net worth person who uses their own money to invest in start-up companies in exchange for an equity share of the businesses, according to The Angel Capital Association.

Cannon formed an advisory board and the organization officially launched in 2012 with four people volunteering their time to get the organization up and running.

After 10 years as executive director, Cannon stepped down from her position, although she will continue to serve as chairman of the board. In November, Jody Trietch took over as executive director after leaving her position as chief financial officer of Boomerang Catapult.

“I think that there’s incredible opportunity, as more companies either move here or start here, but they need the support and the access to capital,” Trietch said. “So to be a part of that success of those companies in this region is really exciting.”

In 2022, Trietch plans to increase member engagement through workshops, monthly roundtables, pitch meetings and socials. One of the endeavors Northern Michigan Angels helped fund was Thermavance, solid state heating and cooling technology owned by the company Promethient.

Thermavance is built into seats and heats or cools without using airflow. This makes the technology ideal for vehicles like motorcycles that are often exposed
to the elements. Since Thermavance doesn’t use airflow, there are no holes in the seat that can get clogged with dirt or rainwater.

Promethient CEO Bill Meyers said the Northern Michigan Angels have provided diverse industry experience, as well as funding,
“They’ve been a great sounding board for ideas, our business plan. It’s one thing to get an investor but it’s another thing to get, really a consultant that
can help you scale a business, in addition to providing the funds that help you get there,” he said.

According to Cannon, Northern Michigan Angels plans to continue investing in endeavors that can benefit Northern Michigan.

“We say ‘we invest on the jockey, not the horse,’ meaning we invest in the entrepreneur. In their ability to pivot as needed, their ability to take advice,
because that is what is going to be needed along the way,” she said.

Aunalytics

Naveego Acquired by Aunalytics

Naveego, an NMA portfolio company and an emerging leader of cloud-native data integration solutions has been acquired by Aunalytics, a leading data platform company, delivering Insights- as-a-Service for enterprise businesses. The announcement of the acquisition has been featured in Yahoo Finance.

Continue Reading on Yahoo! Finance 

ATLAS Space Operations Making Headlines

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Northern Michigan Angels’ portfolio company, ATLAS Space Operations, keeps making headlines.

“ATLAS Space Operations in Traverse City is a part of three new missions that just launched into space.

The rocket will have a satellite that will send back information for three different companies- Astroscale, LinaSpace, and Axelspace.

Each of the missions help to detect changed in Earth’s atmosphere.C9178de5 A9a1 495d A729 5a924f4e8992

One scans Earth, one checks for environmental changes, and the last measure how much debris is floating in space.

All of the information collected from the satellite will go through ATLAS to be decoded and given back to the scientists running the mission.

Vice President of Sales, Matthew Schmidt says, “We at ATLAS we’re really driven by a mission ourselves and that’s to be a big part of the new space economy. Real innovators and have it happen right here in Northern Michigan. That’s our mission in addition to supporting all the missions we do worldwide.”

Continue reading at 9and10 News…