UAE's Stellaria secures $6.8 million to scale geospatial AI platform
UAE startup Stellaria, formerly Farmin, raised $6.8 million at a $114.4 million valuation to expand its geospatial AI software.
Stellaria, a UAE-based artificial intelligence and geospatial intelligence company, has raised $6.8 million in a seed round backed by a group of angel investors. The round values the company at $114.4 million, or AED420 million. The investment amount is equivalent to AED25 million.
Stellaria was formerly known as Farmin. It was founded by Dr. Ali AlHammadi, who is the company's CEO. AlHammadi said the funding reflects investor confidence in Stellaria's technology and team.
AlHammadi said Stellaria has grown from a UAE startup into a company building an AI operating system for geospatial intelligence. He said the company will invest further in its technology and strengthen its team. The goal, he said, is to build globally relevant space and AI technology from the UAE.
That operating system is Stella, Stellaria's proprietary platform. It transforms satellite imagery and other geospatial data into actionable insights, rather than leaving clients to interpret raw imagery on their own. The company's capabilities include AI-powered satellite imagery analytics, super-resolution, automated target recognition, maritime and port intelligence, satellite-derived bathymetry, and environmental monitoring.
The list points to a deliberately broad market. Stellaria's applications span government, defence, maritime and ports, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring. The startup says it is working on building scalable products that can compete internationally.
The newly raised capital will be used to further develop Stellaria's AI and geospatial technologies, expand its technical team, and scale deployments across the UAE and international markets. The work is less about closing a single round and more about turning the platform into a repeatable product.
Stellaria is an alumnus of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund's Innovation Accelerator Programme. The company benefited from tailored mentorship and strategic guidance through that programme. Its growth reflects the wider development of the UAE's innovation ecosystem.
The seed round's valuation is notable for another reason. At $114.4 million, Stellaria is valued at roughly 17 times the $6.8 million it raised. That ratio suggests investors are pricing the potential of its software platform, not just the progress made so far. Stellaria's model is to build the intelligence layer on top of Earth-observation data, not to launch satellites itself. The distinction matters for the Gulf region, where governments and private capital are pushing space and AI as linked priorities. A UAE-based company that sells geospatial software internationally is the kind of outcome those programmes are designed to produce.
