Fresh off raising $68 million from a number of big-name investors, Herndon-based analytics company HawkEye 360 Inc. has struck an acquisition that will expand its data-gathering capacity.
The company, which uses satellites to track radio frequency data that can help its public and private-sector clients detect suspicious activity, announced early Monday it has acquired RF Solutions from its parent company, Maxar Intelligence. Its first-ever deal gives HawkEye 360 two additional satellites, named Charlie and Delta, to go along with the 21 it has in orbit.
RF Solutions was formerly known as Aurora Insights, which was acquired by what was then called Maxar Technologies in early 2023. Maxar Technologies, based in Westminster, Colorado, was publicly traded at the time but was taken private last spring after it was acquired by the private equity firm Advent International for $6.4 billion. Maxar has since been split into two companies — Maxar Technologies and Maxar Intelligence.
Patrick Zeitouni, HawkEye 360’s chief strategy officer, said the deal for RF Solutions “will accelerate our discovery of new signals and expand our capacity to serve government intelligence users.”
An acquisition price was not disclosed.
HawkEye 360’s satellites identify and geolocate radio frequency data for customers across a range of industries in the private and public sectors. Much of its work involves working with defense agencies to help them detect potential threats, but its data is also used for things like spotting illegal fishing activity and spectrum monitoring.
The 8-year-old HawkEye 360 has been rapidly expanding its satellite communications capabilities over the past few years as it has won contracts from the likes of the U.S. Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office. Earlier this year it raised $68 million in a Series D-1 round that brought its total lifetime funding to around $370 million, according to data from PitchBook, and its valuation is now approaching $1 billion, making it one of the Greater Washington region's most valuable private companies.
Investors in the latest round included the venture capital arm of Lockheed Martin Corp. and affiliates of BlackRock Inc.
HawkEye 360 was founded as a spinoff of Boston’s Allied Minds and is headed by John Serafini, who joined the company in 2016 from Allied Minds. It launched its first cluster of satellites in 2018, had nine in orbit by the end of 2022 and has more than doubled its total since.
The company expects to launch a dozen more satellites in 2024.
