When Daniel Seidel travelled to the USA in the middle of the last decade on business alongside his studies, commercial space travel was on everyone's lips there - unlike in Germany. Elon Musk built the first rockets and start-ups were launching satellites into space. Science fiction fan Seidel, who studied mechanical and aerospace engineering in Aachen, was fascinated.

In addition, he encountered many entrepreneurs during his work in market research and realised that this world also fascinated him. "Creating something to do with space travel" became his mission.

AI-based software      

The idea was implemented in Berlin in 2018 together with co-founder Sven Przywarra: This is where LiveEO GmbH began to see the light of day. Since then, the company has grown to an impressive 130 employees, around 70 of whom work in development, along with customers on all five continents. The product behind the success story: AI-based software that analyses satellite data and transforms it into useful applications. The solution for the first major customer, Deutsche Bahn, shows what it is capable of. It has its rail network monitored by LiveEO and sees, for example, when trees threaten to fall on the rails or when the ground subsides. The application makes the railway infrastructure safer and reduces maintenance costs.

The start-up buys data for its solutions mainly from private satellite operators, it has numerous framework agreements and uses over 300 different satellites. It analyses these data with its self-developed software, which uses machine learning, and makes the evaluations available in applications for the end user. In addition to monitoring linear infrastructure such as power lines, rails, and pipelines, which LiveEO started with, the technology can also be useful for other markets with similar processes. One example is forestry. The Berlin founders can monitor whether illegal logging is taking place in a region.

Support from Berlin Partner and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)

It is remarkable how well the two young founders have taken advantage of the offers available in Berlin's start-up ecosystem. The cooperation with Berlin Partner and EEN over several years in particular, an exemplary client journey with many points of contact in the view of the business promoters, demonstrates this. Shortly before founding the company - and completing their studies - Seidel and Przywarra contacted Berlin Partner, which had initiated a network for space travel. The two took part and subsequently set up a Meetup for commercial spaceflight in Berlin. And they held a conference with 250 participants from the sector at Ludwig Erhard Haus, the headquarters of Berlin Partner. Meetup and conference were supported by the economic development agency. "The numerous contacts with companies helped us to find our business idea. We learned at the events that the gap was more in the area of software than hardware. That's how the idea for LiveEO came about," recalls Seidel.

The art of winning European funding

Through their contacts with Berlin Partner, the connection to the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) was also established. The young entrepreneurs regularly received tips on European funding opportunities. One particularly interesting one is the EIC Accelerator. EIC stands for "European Innovation Council". The coveted funding programme is available to individual companies and start-ups.

LiveEO failed with its application on the first attempt. "Don't give up and seek support," Seidel describes the attitude that often helped the young company. For the second round of applications, the team from Berlin Partner and the EEN provided useful practical tips on how to structure the application and the interview. They were successful in the second attempt and received the approval at the end of 2022. The company will use the funding of 1.7 million euros primarily to further expand research and development.

Supporting sustainability

Asked about the vision for the further development of LiveEO, Seidel mentions a product that will soon be in demand. The European Union will pass a piece of legislation in which companies that import goods such as cocoa, coffee or meat will have to prove that they come from areas where no rainforest has been cleared. The Berliners can provide this proof with their solution. And thus make their contribution to ensuring that a sustainable supply chain is really adhered to.

Speaking of Berlin, the fast-growing company already has subsidiaries in the USA and Latvia as well as an office in the UK. Should the headquarters remain in the capital? "We feel very much at home here!" emphasises Seidel, the sci-fi fan who has masks from "Star Wars" as a background image in the video call. It's nice when the love of fantastic future worlds is one of the building blocks for such a successful Berlin company.