Europe’s space innovators gather in Prague for CASSINI Entrepreneurship Days 2026
The next big breakthrough in space technology may not happen in orbit. It may happen in a room where a young company meets the investor who sees its potential.
Across Europe, entrepreneurs are developing technologies to tackle challenges from climate change to secure communications. But turning a promising idea into a scalable company is another challenge altogether. That is where CASSINI Entrepreneurship Days come in.
Over two action-packed days, the flagship event brought together Europe’s space ecosystem and the people with the capital to help build it: start-ups working across Copernicus, EGNSS, SATCOM and SST, alongside more than 50 private investors and financial institutions. The ambition was straightforward but consequential: to close the distance between a good idea and a company ready to grow.
Opening the CASSINI Entrepreneurship Days 2026, EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa highlighted the initiative’s impressive track record. ‘The results speak for themselves: since 2021, CASSINI-backed companies have mobilised over €4 billion in private funding, engaged a network of around 1 500 start-ups and helped create more than 700 jobs. Together, these achievements are helping build a stronger and more competitive European New Space ecosystem’, he said in his welcome speech.
He also noted recent milestones, including German start-up Isar Aerospace launching the first commercial rocket from continental Europe and Aerospacelab contributing to the development of the low Earth orbit segment of the European Commission’s IRIS² programme. Both companies have received CASSINI support, demonstrating how innovative European space companies are achieving concrete results and strengthening Europe’s competitiveness in space.
‘European institutions have worked hard to support your journey, from idea to market. But it takes a village to turn great ideas into successful companies’, added Rodrigo da Costa. ‘Investors have been a vital part of that journey, backing ambitious founders and helping innovative businesses grow and scale. So, let me thank all the investors here today for their continued commitment to Europe’s next generation of space champions’.
The CASSINI Entrepreneurship Days served as a vibrant platform connecting over 180 start-ups, representing diverse EU space components such as SST, Copernicus, EGNSS and SATCOM.
The agenda featured high-level debates on European space autonomy, investor reverse-pitching sessions and public procurement workshops designed to help fast-moving ventures navigate tenders and secure strategic growth.
‘As we celebrate the 5th edition of this event, your feedback has been clear: these days matter because they create the space to connect, to form new partnerships, to secure investment and to develop innovative products together’, said Rodrigo da Costa. ‘So, I would like to encourage you to make the most of every conversation, every pitch and every encounter. Show your partners and investors the strength of your ideas and the ambition of your projects.’
Missed the event this year? No worries! Explore the CED booklet to discover the amazing companies and investors who joined us!
Spotlight on the 2026 winners
With a spotlight on Europe’s next generation of space businesses, 12 European start-ups from seven European countries each received a prize of €100 000 for turning technologies and data from the EU Space Programme into products aimed at real-world markets.
The 2026 winners were selected for their technological excellence, level of innovation and commercial potential.
Their ideas reveal just how far the applications of space technology now reach. CollectiveCrunch and Hula Earth are combining artificial intelligence with satellite imagery to monitor forests and ecosystems. FloodWaive and Pyri are bringing speed to disaster response, with rapid flood forecasting and wildfire verification.
Other winners are working farther from Earth and, in some cases, in orbit itself. Space Air Technology, SpaceLocker, ION-X and OhmSpace are developing new approaches to spacecraft hardware, mass reduction and green propulsion. Ecosmic, NaviGate and CYSEC are tackling another increasingly urgent frontier: the security of space-based communications and infrastructure. In addition, MARGINS is putting Copernicus climate data to work for food producers facing a more unpredictable climate.
Taken together, the winners offer a glimpse of where Europe’s space economy is heading: towards technologies designed not simply to reach space, but to make what happens there useful on Earth.
From competition to creating value
The CASSINI Challenges competition has awarded 149 winners to date. Winners from past editions have gone on to develop their solutions and seize new opportunities. Past winner ClearSKY Vision described the CASSINI Challenges as ‘transformative’ after winning in 2023, while Artificial Brain has since spread its offices in Europe, India and the United States. Their stories reflect EUSPA’s wider ambition to help turn promising space innovations into technologies and services that create value in Europe and beyond.
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