Rui Costa joins as ICEYE Portugal CEO as the company deepens its long-term commitment to Portugal's space capability and local ecosystem.
ICEYE, the European leader in sovereign intelligence from space, today announced the establishment of ICEYE Portugal, the opening of a center of excellence in Lisbon, and welcomed Rui Costa as CEO of ICEYE Portugal.
ICEYE Portugal is a long-term commitment to build advanced space technology in Portugal, for Portugal and the world. It builds on two years of partnership with the Portuguese Air Force and national partners, and reflects ICEYE's confidence in Portugal as a hub for advanced technology and talent.
At its core is a new center of excellence in Lisbon, where ICEYE will develop in-house R&D in software, systems integration and AI, building end-to-end intelligence capability, while creating high-skilled jobs and actively hiring local talent. The center complements Portugal's growing national space industry, including the satellite Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) capability being developed by CTI Aeroespacial with the Portuguese Air Force, with ICEYE as a satellite and technology partner.
Beyond the Air Force, ICEYE Portugal will work alongside Portugal's growing space ecosystem, deepening local industrial and R&D capability through industry days and joint programmes with leading universities and research institutions.
The expansion underscores Portugal's growing space-based capabilities in Europe, where sovereign intelligence has shifted from strategic investment to operational necessity. To date, Portugal has acquired four ICEYE satellites and two have been launched, as it scales toward a high-speed constellation for its Atlantic maritime domain and Exclusive Economic Zone. It is one of seven European nations which has procured sovereign end-to-end intelligence systems from ICEYE, strengthening Europe's collective resilience.
Joining ICEYE Portugal as CEO, Rui Costa brings extensive deep-tech leadership to the role, with a proven track record of scaling international technology businesses, leading global expansions and pioneering AI innovation. He was previously Chief Technology Officer of Veniam, a networking software for connected and autonomous vehicles, later acquired by Nexar, a global leader in Vision AI-powered mobility solutions.
As part of its expansion, ICEYE will also expand its turn-key natural catastrophe solutions to Portuguese banks, insurers and civil protection agencies. ICEYE analyzed over 390 natural catastrophes globally in 2025, delivering impact data within hours of events unfolding. During the five Atlantic storms that struck Portugal and Spain in January and February 2026, ICEYE captured 630 image frames covering 4,657 km² of flood extent, giving authorities, insurers and utilities near real-time intelligence regardless of cloud cover, weather or time of day.
Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE, said:
"Portugal is one of Europe's most forward-leaning nations in sovereign space capability, and our work with the Portuguese Air Force has shown what trusted, end-to-end SAR intelligence can deliver. Bringing satellite manufacturing, AI-enabled analytics and our natural catastrophe solutions together in Lisbon, alongside Portuguese talent and partners, strengthens both the country and the wider European capability. In Rui Costa, we have a leader with the technical depth and international experience to make this happen."
Rui Costa, CEO of ICEYE Portugal, said:
"Portugal has the geography, talent and ambition to become a major contributor to Europe’s sovereign space capability. With ICEYE Portugal, we are here to build the future of space intelligence together with the local ecosystem of universities, research institutions, industry partners and national stakeholders. This is a long-term commitment to develop critical technology, from Portugal to the world."
Christian Lindholm, Ambassador of Finland to Portugal, said:
"The consolidation of ICEYE’s presence in Portugal and the opening of the center of excellence marks an important milestone in Finnish-Portuguese relations. It is a tangible result of the deepening bilateral defense and dual-use cooperation enhanced by Finland’s NATO accession and our two countries’ shared commitment to strengthening European resilience and security. The development of advanced space technology is extremely significant in fostering not only Finnish and Portuguese excellence, but more broadly European innovations and capabilities."
