Connected
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
Some sections are still being researched1 / 4
Sections to complete：02
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Connected was a Portuguese space startup building a space-enabled IoT connectivity platform: a hosted-payload model delivering scalable, affordable satellite IoT connectivity for industries ranging from maritime to energy and logistics. Months after incorporation it raised EUR2 million in the largest pre-seed round ever by a Portuguese space startup, co-led by Shilling VC, Iberis Capital, and FundBox, with Octopus Ventures, Amena Ventures, and angel investor Keith Willey participating, and backed institutionally by the European Space Agency and the Portuguese Space Agency. In July 2025 it was acquired by satellite company Open Cosmos as its dedicated IoT connectivity unit ('Connected Cosmos'); all 22 Connected team members joined Open Cosmos, with CEO Tiago Rebelo becoming Open Cosmos' Chief Revenue Officer.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Acquired by Open Cosmos
In July 2025 Open Cosmos acquired Connected in a landmark European spacetech exit; Connected became Open Cosmos' dedicated IoT connectivity unit, with its hosted-payload model accelerating Open Cosmos' OpenConstellation vision and powering three Portuguese-engineered satellites assembled from late 2025.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Raised approximately $2.16 million in total (reports cite a €2 million, roughly $2.2 million, pre-seed round).
- 02
In July 2025 it was acquired by Open Cosmos; all 22 employees joined Open Cosmos's Portugal team, and CEO Tiago Rebelo became Open Cosmos's chief revenue officer and general manager of its Portuguese subsidiary.
- 03
No audited loss figure was publicly disclosed.