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University of Leeds professors get funding to launch satellite data company

Pix: Shaun Flannery/shaunflanneryphotography.com COPYRIGHT PICTURE>>SHAUN FLANNERY>01302-570814>>07778315553>> 1st May 2018 Mercia Fund Managers - Satsense University of Leeds Pictured L-R Prof Tim Wright of Satsense, Richard Jackson of Unipart, Lisa Ward of Mercia, Prof Andy Hooper of Satsense, Andy Duley, Director of Commercialisation, University of Leeds

Two professors from the University of Leeds have obtained £750,000 in Seed funding to form SatSense, a spin-out company using software to detect the deterioration of building foundations.

The funding came from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, (which is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund), Unipart Rail and the University of Leeds.

Professors Tim Wright and Andy Hooper will use the investment to bring their technology, which uses algorithms to extract measurements of ground motion from satellite radar images, to market. It will also enable them to recruit a managing director for the business, as well as to expand the development team.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union.

Lisa Ward, investment director with Mercia Fund Managers, which manages NPIF, said: “While SatSense is a very early-stage company, its technology represents a step change in resolution and accuracy over anything that is currently on the market. ...