Safeguarding Orbits: The Future of Space Traffic Management – Why we invested in OKAPI:Orbits

Following the announcement of our latest fund investment in OKAPI:Orbits , we wanted to give you more background on the rationale behind this investment and why we are excited about the market opportunity and the company.

Have you ever heard of the Kessler Syndrome, sometimes also called the Kessler Effect? NASA scientists Donald J. Kessler and Burton G. Cour-Palais first proposed a scenario of a self-destructive cycle in which collisions between objects create more debris, setting off a domino effect which might render lower Earth orbit (LEO) essentially unusable. The high speeds at which satellites and other space objects orbit the Earth turn small pieces of debris into dangerous projectiles. The NASA experts provided their warning already in the 1970s. Since then, space has become much more crowded, with some of the wildest estimates projecting as much as 70,000 satellites in space by 2030.  

Why this matters 

Billions of consumers, as well as businesses and governments increasingly rely on the delivery of services enabled by satellites. Space, particularly low Earth orbit, is becoming increasingly crowded, as evidenced by a doubling of satellites between 2020 and 2022 alone. 

Starlink, owned by SpaceX, is a satellite mega-constellation that has launched more than 6,300 satellites since May 2019. The European company OneWeb has started to deploy a constellation of up to 1,000 satellites. Kuiper, owned by Amazon, just launched the first batch of 27 satellites of a total of 3,236 planned satellites. China is working on two mega-constellations totaling a staggering 27,000 satellites by 2030. Europe is also stepping up bolstering European space initiatives as well. As recently as December 2024, the EU's IRIS² initiative was signed, which aims to create a satellite constellation of approximately 290 satellites across LEO and MEO by 2031 to improve secure connectivity across Europe. Most of these constellations provide high-speed, low-latency broadband internet services, improving worldwide connectivity. 

In addition to these mega constellations and defense-related satellites, we should not forget the many smaller-scale constellations that allow for space-enabled applications like IoT use cases, earth observation or navigation. We all rely on the reliable functioning of all these satellites every day. Recent geopolitical developments also showed that satellites are of paramount importance to national security. Space – and LEO in particular – is already very busy, so there is a growing need to understand how to avoid collisions and coordinate maneuvers across operators.   

However, it is not only the sheer number of satellites that is a cause for concern, but also space debris, creating an urgent need for more advanced technologies for collision avoidance, debris mitigation and sustainable and coordinated operations. 

Why OKAPI:Orbits 

OKAPI:Orbits offers one of the most advanced and reliable space traffic management solutions we have come across, setting new industry standards. The company was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from Technische Universität Braunschweig, a heavyweight in aerospace technology, as one of the first commercial Space Situational Awareness (SSA) companies by Kristina Nikolaus, Christopher Kebschull, and Jonas Radtke. 

OKAPI:Orbits delivers comprehensive Space Traffic Management (STM) and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) solutions, providing end-to-end support for space missions — from pre-launch mission design and ongoing in-orbit collision avoidance to end-of-life decommissioning and de-orbiting. The company’s AI-enabled Space Traffic Management Platform, bolstered by advanced data fusion and best-in-class simulation capabilities, predicts, detects, and mitigates risks such as collisions, frequency interference, and environmental impacts, while optimizing satellite operations and preventing space debris proliferation. The company has already demonstrated its value by analyzing more than 90% of active satellites. In addition, the company’s latest product, Astrolabe, which was co-developed with the European Space Agency, enables operators of active satellites to work together to avoid collisions and minimize the need for constant monitoring. We believe that Astrolabe enables network effects in space - the more operators use the platform, the more powerful its insights will become. 

Offering modular, scalable, and customizable software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions accessible via web interfaces and APIs, OKAPI:Orbits enhances operational efficiency, ensures compliance with international regulations, and caters to a diverse clientele, including satellite operators, launch providers, regulators, and insurers across Europe, the U.S. and Asia-Pacific. With a strong foothold in the European space industry, the company collaborates with institutional and commercial leaders, driving sustainability and safety across the entire lifecycle of space operations. 

In this market environment, we are also seeing a growing number of smaller, private satellite operators that lack the resources and capabilities of some of the larger players. These smaller players typically rely on third parties to both acquire data on space objects and provide insights for collision avoidance and maneuver correction. This trend favors an increasing role for agile and tech-heavy start-ups that can effectively provide SSA and STM services. 

In such an environment, we believe that OKAPI:Orbits will leave its mark in orbit safety and space traffic management. 

What’s next 

The EUR 13m total seed financing round was led by Ventech with strong support from us at Matterwave Ventures , existing investor Amadeus APEX Technology Fund as well as well-known private investors. The new capital will be used to advance the technical capabilities of the company, expand the team, and scale the company’s international footprint.   

At Matterwave Ventures, we strongly believe in a resilient and sustainable European space industry. A key enabling technology will be reliable space traffic management solutions – which is what OKAPI:Orbit provides. As demand increases, we are excited about the potential for OKAPI:Orbit's product suite to be widely adopted and have an impact. 

For more information about OKAPI:Orbits , visit their website https://www.okapiorbits.space/  

For more information about Matterwave Ventures , please visit our LinkedIn page, our website or contact us directly: Benedikt Kronberger Ute Theel Christian Reitberger Ines Kolmsee Robert Gallenberger Lorenzo De Angeli Silviu Apostu Eduardo Martinez Mariño Akshata Agarwal Dr. Carlotta Ficorella Bruno Bernard Julian Riebartsch Barbara Christen