Setanta Space Systems (Setanta Space), the Irish space technology start-up, today announced that it is seeking to raise €3 million in funding to fast-track its continuing development of AI-enabled autonomy technologies in space.
The company which was established in 2025 is focused on designing novel modular onboard computing hardware and AI software to make the next generation of satellites and spacecraft more autonomous, resilient, and capable.
Adam Taylor, founder and CEO, Setanta Space said, “We are delighted to announce our €3 million funding drive as we focus on fast-tracking the further development of Setanta’s onboard AI and modular satellite computing technologies. Our goal is to give mission designers the flexibility to scale compute on demand, process Earth Observation data directly at the payload, and give satellites the operational autonomy needed to respond immediately in increasingly complex orbital environments.”
The NovaUCD-headquartered company also announced today that it has been accepted onto the ESA BIC Ireland initiative, a two-year business incubation programme which supports innovative Irish start-ups that have a connection with space and are developing either upstream or downstream applications.
Setanta Space’s core platform, Danu, is an onboard computer built around a flexible architecture that allows mission designers to tailor processing power, Al acceleration, and radiation tolerance depending on need. As a modular hardware system, Danu allows computing subsystems to be integrated, upgraded, or reconfigured without having to redesign a full-scale spacecraft avionics stack.
Alongside the Danu hardware, Setanta is developing integrated AI models for spacecraft health monitoring, Earth Observation analytics and autonomous navigation. By combining this flexible hardware with the onboard AI software models Setanta can deliver highly resilient satellites and spacecraft capable of more independent decision-making even in harsh space environments.
James Murphy, founder and CTO, Setanta Space said, “Being accepted into the ESA BIC initiative gives us the opportunity to network with the wider European space supply chain and advance our technologies further and faster. Navigating the commercial space sector requires strong industry links, and the support will help us engage with satellite integrators and research partners as we develop our onboard computing platform.”
In addition to securing up to €50k in seed funding on joining the ESA BIC initiative, Setanta will now have access to technical expertise, training, and funding opportunities, and joins a network of space industry leaders, supporting its drive to use space data, technologies and assets to further advance its products and services.
Welcoming Setanta Space to ESA BIC Ireland, Peter Finnegan, Manager, ESA Space Solutions Centre Ireland and Head of New Ventures at Tyndall National Institute, said, “Setanta Space is another example of a new Irish company developing a proprietary upstream application that increases compute on demand at a lower development cost and is radiation scalable, which will be of massive interest to satellite operators and integrators.”
ESA BIC Ireland is managed by ESA Space Solutions Centre Ireland, a consortium partnership involving Tyndall National Institute (Lead Partner), University College Dublin; Atlantic Technological University, Dublin City University, Maynooth University, Munster Technological University and Technological University of the Shannon.
ESA Space Solutions Centre Ireland’s local partner is Enterprise Ireland, which acts as the contact point for Ireland’s National Delegation to ESA, along with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.
Setanta Space is also a client company of Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government’s enterprise development agency.