AI Compression Startup Raises $3.4M to Solve Satellite Data Bottleneck

Jan de Vries · 2026-02-12

Here's a problem you might not think about every day: we're launching more satellites than ever to capture data from space, but getting that information back to Earth is a real headache. It's like having a firehose of data up there, but only a tiny straw to bring it all down. That's where The Compression Company comes in. This UK and US-based SpaceTech startup just announced a $3.4 million pre-Seed round to tackle limited satellite bandwidth with a clever solution. They're using AI-driven compression that runs directly onboard satellites, reportedly reducing file sizes by over 95%. Think about what that means. Each satellite can transmit far more data to Earth during those brief moments when it's passing over a ground station. It's not about building more satellites – it's about making the ones we already have work smarter. ### The Funding Landscape The round was led by Long Journey, who you might know as early backers of SpaceX, Uber, and Anduril. That's pretty good company to be in. The new funding will help expand their engineering team and support more commercial rollouts with satellite operators. Michael Stanway, co-founder and CEO, put it perfectly: "There's been huge investments in capturing more data from space, but far less attention paid to how that data actually gets back to Earth. Until now, the answer has been to launch more satellites. We're taking a different approach – using software to compress data in orbit." ### The Bigger Picture in SpaceTech Looking around the sector, there's been some serious investment flowing into SpaceTech recently. Just in late 2025, we saw: - France's Infinite Orbits secured $43.6 million for satellite servicing - Reflex Aerospace raised $54.5 million for manufacturing - U-Space got $26.2 million for high-cadence launches - Germany's Marble Imaging raised $5.8 million for Earth observation - Finland's Vexlum secured $10.9 million for laser manufacturing All together, that's about $161 million in disclosed funding across the sector. The Compression Company's $3.4 million might seem smaller in comparison, but it's strategically focused on a specific problem that others are overlooking. ### Why This Matters Here's the thing – while everyone's been pouring money into satellite manufacturing, launch capability, and hardware, The Compression Company is addressing the downstream constraint. It's like building bigger and better water pipes, but forgetting that the faucet at the end is still tiny. Joe Griffith, the CTO, explains the opportunity: "AI compression unlocks a huge opportunity with Earth Observation data. Operators have always had to make trade-offs about what gets sent. When more of the data you collect can actually make it to the ground, those trade-offs change." He's right. When you're not constantly choosing what to throw away, you can be more selective and more ambitious about the services you build. It changes the whole game. ### The Founders' Background The company was founded in 2025 by Michael Stanway and Joe Griffith, who met while studying neurotechnology at Imperial College London. That background is actually pretty relevant. Stanway's research focused on keeping brain tissue alive outside the body – work that required handling massive imaging datasets. Griffith studied how the brain itself compresses information, developing neural network approaches. So they're essentially applying what they learned about how our brains efficiently process information to solve a space data problem. That's the kind of cross-disciplinary thinking that leads to breakthroughs. ### What This Means for Satellite Operators By prioritizing the most valuable parts of each image, The Compression Company helps operators in three key ways: - Lower costs (less bandwidth needed) - Reduce delays (more data per pass) - Deliver usable data faster And the best part? They don't have to change their existing workflows. It's a software solution that slots right into what they're already doing. In a world where we're increasingly relying on satellite data for everything from weather forecasting to agricultural monitoring to national security, solving this transmission bottleneck isn't just nice to have – it's essential. The Compression Company might be small now, but they're tackling a problem that could unlock the true potential of all those satellites we've been launching.