"For Korea to secure space information sovereignty, it cannot stop at owning satellites. It must also have the right to image required areas at desired times, the capability to store and analyze the raw data collected, and the control to operate the system without interference from foreign corporations or governments."
Pekka Laurila, co-founder and chief strategy officer (CSO) of ICEYE, said this in an interview with ChosunBiz right after his keynote speech at SMARTCLOUD SHOW 2026 on the 26th at the Westin Josun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.
ICEYE's business proposal for the Korean market also focuses on securing space information sovereignty. Korea would build satellites and ground systems it directly controls, while also using ICEYE's global satellite constellation. The company said that while an independent system is being built, necessary information can be obtained through the existing constellation, and later, the two constellations can be combined to enhance observation capabilities.
ICEYE is a satellite corporation founded in Finland in 2014 by Laurila and Rafal Modrzewski. In 2018, it launched ICEYE-X1, the world's first commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite under 100 kilograms, and by July this year it had sent a total of 76 satellites into space. In a Series F fundraising round in June, its corporate value was assessed at more than €10 billion (about 17 trillion won). It provides the full stack from the design, manufacturing, and operation of satellites and ground infrastructure to satellite imaging, data processing, and artificial intelligence (AI) analysis. In Korea, it established a local entity in June and is expanding its business, including signing a memorandum of understanding with Seoul National University for joint research and education in SAR Earth observation, small satellites, and AI-based satellite operations.
The co-founder Laurila said, "When ICEYE says 'sovereign,' it doesn't just mean the name; it means local customers and partners substantively control the system," adding, "We can make it so only Korean customers can command imaging and manage data, and it is also possible to prevent access by ICEYE headquarters or third countries."
SAR satellites transmit radar to the ground and create images by analyzing the returning signals. Unlike optical satellites, they can observe the ground at night and collect data even when visibility is obscured by clouds or smoke. ICEYE plans to expand its satellite production capacity, currently around 50 a year, to about 100 by 2027. The following is a Q&A with co-founder Laurila.
◇ "Who controls it matters more than owning a satellite"
—If Korea adopts ICEYE's system, who controls imaging tasking and data?
"Only the customer has control over a sovereign system. When ICEYE says 'sovereign,' it doesn't just mean the name; it means local customers and partners substantively control the system. We can make it so only Korean customers can command imaging and manage data. It is also possible to prevent access by ICEYE headquarters or third countries."
—Must all satellites and systems be built independently?
"Using a sovereign system together with a global commercial constellation can be the best combination. The core observation capability is independently controlled by the customer nation, and the global constellation is additionally used when needed. Building an independent system takes time, but with a commercial constellation you can receive data from day one. Rather than choosing between 'complete independent build' and 'buying overseas data,' this is a practical path that combines the two."
—Why do you see Korea as a key market?
"Korea rapidly adopts new technology across defense, insurance, and daily life. It is a leading country both in creating and adopting technology. From a defense perspective, Finland and Korea face similar environments. (Finland shares a roughly 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, and Korea faces North Korea across the Military Demarcation Line.) Both countries need to understand routine activity patterns in their surroundings and to give early warning of potential military activity."
—How do you plan to expand business in Korea?
"Korea has many local partners with high technical capabilities. ICEYE does not seek to remain a corporation that unilaterally exports foreign technology. We want to build local teams, a legal entity, technical capabilities, and partnerships in Korea, and to develop national-level infrastructure together. We are open to deep collaboration, including local production, system operations, and talent development."
◇ "Repeated observation creates information, more than a single photo"
—Is repeated observation more important than a single high-resolution satellite image?
"A single SAR image only shows the situation at the time of capture. You must look at the same area repeatedly to know the spread of floods and wildfires, changes along borders, and the movement of vessels. A single low Earth orbit satellite circles the Earth about once every 90 minutes, but because the Earth also rotates, it can take about two days to re-image a specific area. Operating multiple satellites as a constellation can greatly reduce this interval.
If you image an area once every few days, you are more likely to end up just checking what has already happened. In contrast, repeating observations several times a day allows you to detect changes early. For satellite imagery to become practical information rather than an after-the-fact record, not only resolution but also observation frequency and analysis speed must increase together."
—What factors will determine competition in the satellite industry going forward?
"The number of satellites, image resolution, and data transmission speed will remain important. But an increase in satellites and data does not immediately translate into information. What matters is the ability to quickly find the necessary changes in the data and make them usable for real decision-making. The SAR constellation will become the backbone (core information infrastructure) observing the world, upon which other sensors, external data, AI analysis, and application services will be combined. This means the axis of competition in the satellite industry is shifting from 'how sharp a photo you take' to 'how quickly you interpret changes in the photo.' As the number of satellites grows and imaging cycles shorten, a method in which people check all images directly runs into limits."
◇ "AI analysis results determine a satellite's next imaging"
—How does ICEYE use AI?
"When AI detects a specific signal in satellite data, it does not end with analysis. Based on that result, it instructs the satellite sensor to conduct additional observations and then revalidates the previous analysis with the newly acquired data. An 'end-to-end loop'—collecting and analyzing information in real time and then re-tasking the constellation (a structure that connects the entire process from data collection to analysis, additional imaging, and revalidation into one loop)—is ICEYE's differentiator."
—In the defense field, can AI make independent judgments?
"AI excels at repeatedly processing vast amounts of data by the same standard. But in fields like defense, where the impact of judgments is significant, humans must be involved. A 'human in the loop' system, in which a person ultimately verifies AI's analysis results, is necessary."
—What kind of company do you think ICEYE will become?
"In the long term, ICEYE's sensing technology will become the core information infrastructure underpinning the world. Such deep tech typically is first used in academia and government, then spreads to other industries. We are currently growing rapidly in defense and government and providing solutions to insurers and other corporations. Just as satellite navigation began in the military and became a universal infrastructure, Earth observation technology will follow the same path."