John Serafini
CEO, HawkEye 360
Under CEO John Serafini’s leadership, HawkEye 360 has completed a pivotal year of growth and maturation. The company oversees a quickly growing and first-of-its-kind satellite constellation that detects, characterizes and geolocates radio frequency signals. The company boasts robust data analytics capabilities, an impressive customer base and strong financial support.
Serafini kicked off 2022 by completing a Series D round of funding that totaled $155 million and used the funds to fuel corporate development throughout the year. The company sent six next-generation satellites into orbit, doubling their on-orbit capacity and allowing them to analyze and disseminate data faster to more customers.
The company secured multiple U.S. government contracts. That includes a 2-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in August 2022 and a Radio Frequency Data Contract with the National Reconnaissance Office in September 2022. HawkEye 360’s partnership with the NRO explores the near- and long-term high-impact capabilities commercial RF can deliver for the agency.
In July 2022, Serafini hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of HawkEye 360’s 19,000-sq. ft. facility, the Advanced Technology and Development Center, in Herndon, Virginia. The facility enables HawkEye 360 to have end-to-end responsibility to research, develop and manufacture its commercial RF-sensing satellites.
“The opening of our Virginia satellite manufacturing facility brought high-paying, mission focused jobs to the local economy, and the continued expansion of our RF-sensing satellite constellation equipped the U.S. Government and our partners abroad with crucial, near real-time insights into illegal and illicit activities across the globe,” Serafini said. “Our successes in 2022 and in the year ahead are only possible thanks to our amazing HawkEye 360 team, who succeed meaningfully every single day with their talent, drive, and innovation.”
Why Watch
In January 2023, HawkEye 360 launched three additional satellites into orbit out of Wallops Island, Virginia, and plans to launch nine more satellites this year. These launches will double the company’s collection capabilities yet again. Advancements in HawkEye 360’s technologies are on the horizon as well, as data scientists plan to expand the company’s signals of interest library and product lines available to customers this year.
Serafini anticipates 2023 will be a year of accelerated growth with strong momentum internationally, as the company continues to see increased demand for its capabilities abroad.