The WSBW 2024 Editions: Martijn Blanken, CEO of Neo Space Group
MESM's Paris correspondent, Manel Kerioui, sat down with Martijn Blanken to discover the plans and global ambitions of Saudi Arabia's Neo Space Group.
Launched in May 2024, Saudi Arabia's Neo Space Group (NSG), a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company, is committed to fulfilling the Kingdom’s commercial space requirements. NSG specializes in satellite communications, Internet of Things (IoT), positioning, navigation, timing (PNT), Earth observation, and geospatial capabilities. As a vital enabler of Vision 2030, NSG is at the forefront of promoting economic diversification, industrial development, innovation, and job creation. At the World Space Business Week in Paris, NSG's founding CEO, Martijn Blanken, elaborated on the company's role during a discussion with Middle East Space Monitor’s Paris correspondent, Manel Kerioui.
Q: Can you please tell us about yourself and your professional background, and what attracted you to become NSG’s CEO?
A: I joined the Neo Space Group in April of this year, as you mentioned, as the inaugural CEO. Interestingly, I don’t come from a background in the satellite or space industry. The majority of my career has been in telecoms, with a bit of experience in software as well.
Within the telecoms sector, my work has always been on the business-to-business (B2B) side. This included providing services to governmental organizations and enterprises, as well as working on the infrastructure side. I’ve been involved in mobile infrastructures, terrestrial networks, and submarine networks. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to live and work in various parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Australia.
The opportunity to lead NSG arose when I was approached a few months before joining. I was intrigued by the proposition, as it presented a unique chance to step into an emerging industry. While I hadn't previously worked in the satellite and space sector or in the Middle East, I saw this as an exciting challenge and an opportunity to leverage my background in telecom and software to make a significant impact.
It’s rare in one’s career to have the chance to start a company from scratch, especially in an industry on the verge of disruption. Being backed by a visionary and well-capitalized investor made it feel like an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up.
Q: What was the genesis of Neo Space Group?
A: It all goes back to Vision 2030, which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia formally launched in 2016. The core idea behind it is to reduce the country’s dependency on fossil fuels. To achieve this, they are investing heavily in several industries and sectors where the Saudi economy is either relatively small or, in some cases, non-existent.
One of these sectors is space. There are a total of 13 sectors outlined in Vision 2030, and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been tasked with facilitating the growth of these industries. Aerospace and defense are two of those sectors, and within that, the space industry has been identified as a rapidly growing field. There is a strong recognition that the demand for space-related capabilities, especially sovereign demand, is going to rise substantially. This is driven in part by the geopolitical changes we are witnessing globally.
In response, the Kingdom decided it needed a national space champion. This led to the idea of establishing a company to represent that effort. They carefully examined the different domains within the space sector, making a distinction between those that are commercially viable and those that are not yet economically feasible.
For instance, human space travel, deep space exploration, and space logistics are not currently viable from a commercial standpoint. These areas are primarily being explored by the Saudi Space Agency. On the other hand, there are many activities in the space sector that are already economically viable. These include satellite communications—both broadband and narrowband—direct-to-device services, and geospatial technologies, as well as Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) sectors.
The Neo Space Group has been tasked with entering these markets. In addition to satellite communications, geospatial, and PNT, there’s a fourth area we've been asked to focus on: setting up a venture capital fund. The fund will invest in emerging space economies that are not yet fully mature. By doing so, we can gain a solid understanding of what’s happening in those areas, and when they reach commercial viability, the Neo Space Group will be well-positioned to capitalize on them.
Q: Your vision emphasizes partnering with world-class companies to develop innovative products and services. Could you elaborate on some of the key global partnerships you’ve established or are pursuing, and how these partnerships will enhance Neo Space Group’s role in the global space industry?
A: When it comes to partnerships, there are generally three approaches to entering markets. One is to build something from scratch. The second option is to enter into partnerships with established players. The third option is to acquire a company. We're actively pursuing all three strategies.
To address your question on partnerships specifically, one example involves SDS-1, Saudi Arabia's geostationary satellite, also known as Saudi Geostationary Satellite-1. The satellite has been in orbit since 2019, but it hasn’t been operationalized because there was never any investment in the necessary ground infrastructure. It’s quite an unusual situation. Neo Space Group has been tasked with operationalizing this satellite and commercializing the non-military payload on it.
To do that, we’ve decided to enter the aviation market organically, providing in-flight communication services to airlines. We’ve already signed up a few airlines to deliver these services. However, the challenge with airlines is that they fly from A to B, and sometimes one of those locations is outside the satellite's coverage area. To address this, we’ve partnered with SES and other companies through an alliance called the Open Orbit Alliance. This alliance enables global coverage through a global Ka-band network, ensuring that airplanes flying from A to B always have the communication coverage they need, allowing us to provide in-flight services to passengers and clients.
Looking toward future partnerships, yes, there are several opportunities we are actively pursuing, both in terms of partnerships and acquisitions. One acquisition, which will be officially announced soon but is already somewhat known in the market, is Taqnia ETS. This company, which will be rebranded, is a downstream insights provider in the geospatial domain. Taqnia takes satellite imagery, aerial imagery, and even terrestrial data, processes that information, and provides specific insights to various government institutions in Saudi Arabia. For instance, the Ministry of Agriculture uses these insights for crop health monitoring, and the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Infrastructure rely on this data for infrastructure monitoring. This unit employs around 400 people, and now they are part of Neo Space Group.
That's one acquisition, but we’re also likely to see one or two more acquisitions in the geospatial domain in the near future. On the satellite communications side, there are numerous partnerships we’re pursuing to help us get things off the ground. Some of these partnerships are confidential at the moment, so I can't go into specifics, but it’s clear that beyond the aviation sector, we also aim to expand into other downstream verticals. We want to deliver meaningful communication solutions to customers who operate in areas where terrestrial networks don’t reach, which means partnerships will be crucial at a global level.
Almost by definition, space, and satellite operations transcend national borders. Unlike terrestrial communications, where if you and I were to set up a mobile company in a particular country, we would get a license, and our operations would stop at the country’s borders, space doesn’t work that way. To achieve a good return on the investments made in satellite infrastructure—whether it’s the satellites themselves or the ground systems—you have to look beyond the borders of the country you’re based in.
That’s why Neo Space Group is positioned to be not just a national space champion for Saudi Arabia, but also a growing leader in the global satellite space economy.
Q: As an essential enabler of Vision 2030, Neo Space Group is expected to contribute to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification and industrial development. How does your company plan to support these objectives?
When discussing partnerships, it’s important to recognize that there are many dimensions involved. We will establish partnerships on various fronts, including the supply side, where we plan to collaborate with satellite operators whose capacity we will leverage to provide solutions to our end customers.
Additionally, we aim to partner with universities and research institutions, providing them with raw data that they can use for research or to develop academic theses. At the same time, we’re actively working with clients or customers, including major players in the Saudi economy. For example, Aramco, the global oil and gas giant, has diverse needs across different sectors. It would be unwise for us not to engage in active dialogue with them to explore how we can support their operations and enhance their efficiency. We have numerous ongoing conversations—some confidential, some more open—but our goal is to help Aramco improve its already impressive operations.
Another significant initiative is our recent award of a permit to establish a wholesale Earth observation marketplace in Saudi Arabia. This marketplace will be unique; think of it like an Amazon for satellite and aerial images. It will connect various providers of optical, radar, hyperspectral, and multispectral imagery with customers and distributors who can utilize this data for insights.
Moreover, we’re committed to making this geospatial data available to the startup community. For instance, if a new company aims to serve the insurance industry by offering decision-ready insights based on geospatial data, we recognize that acquiring this data can be costly. To mitigate this, we will create programs that stimulate the startup ecosystem by providing some data at minimal or even no cost, helping them build their minimum viable product.
Once these startups can demonstrate traction with their product, we can transition into a commercial relationship. This approach extends to universities and research labs that may also face budget constraints. By selling some data on the commercial market, we can subsidize the same data for less commercially oriented institutions.
The overarching goal is to create an ecosystem that fosters growth, where a flywheel effect begins to spin. As more stakeholders engage in the geospatial sector, we hope to contribute significantly to creating a vibrant economy in the Kingdom.
Q: And what are some of the challenges you’re anticipating?
A: The biggest challenge at this stage is that we are a young company. We are still maturing and working hard to recruit our team. It’s fair to say we have more ideas than we currently have the capacity—and potentially even the capability—to work on.
Our primary challenge will be to make tough decisions about where to focus our efforts. When you choose a particular area to concentrate on, you also implicitly decide where not to focus, even if those neglected areas might still be very attractive.
Fortunately, our team is quite diverse, coming from a variety of backgrounds. For instance, I’m Dutch, though I haven’t lived in the Netherlands for a long time. We have many foreign experts who have relocated to the Kingdom to help build this company alongside numerous talented Saudi Arabians. We’re an eclectic bunch, which I find beneficial for building a company. However, this diversity also means we have different perspectives on various matters. Therefore, one of the challenges will be ensuring we are well-aligned on the things we’re going to focus on and those we’ll de-prioritize.
The second challenge is finding good talent quickly. Since we’re headquartered in Saudi Arabia and have so many ideas, many initial roles will be based in the Kingdom. However, we expect to start building our international presence by 2025, at which point you will see us becoming active in various global markets.
Maintaining a uniform corporate culture across different regions is another challenge I’ve encountered in my career. While I’ve done it a few times, it’s not always easy to achieve. So, in summary, the challenges we face include aligning our diverse perspectives on our focus areas, quickly finding the right talent, and creating a cohesive corporate culture as we expand.
Q: You mentioned Neo Space Group’s task to set up a venture capital fund. Can you share more about the venture arm’s investment philosophy and which areas of the space ecosystem you are targeting for high-growth opportunities?
A: While we haven't fully defined our investment strategy yet, we can outline our initial focus areas. The first segment we’re targeting is new space technology. This includes areas such as deep space exploration, space logistics, and human space travel. These sectors are not fully mature yet, but significant activity and innovation are happening within them. However, they are capital-intensive and require substantial investment, which can only be realized through a combination of private and, at times, government funding.
The second area we’re considering involves investing in startups that contribute to building the broader ecosystem. For instance, as I mentioned earlier, we may provide geospatial startups with free data for a certain period to help them get off the ground. In addition to that, we could also offer equity capital or establish commercial contracts, positioning Neo Space Group as a customer for their services.
While these commercial contracts and data support initiatives would fall outside the traditional venture capital remit, we’re looking at the overall landscape holistically. Our ultimate goal is to help new startups grow into successful companies. The specific means of achieving that—whether through investments, contracts, or data access—are less critical than the outcome itself. We want to make a meaningful contribution to creating a new economy not just in Saudi Arabia, but potentially across the region as well.