Space seed: Martijn Blanken

The thing about space is that there’s a lot of room up there. It’s inviting, and coupled with its exciting sense of potential, space has attracted many canny investors looking to spread their wings in recent years.

In 2016, the Saudi Arabian government announced its Saudi Vision 2030 initiative. Designed to reduce the nation’s dependence on oil revenue, the program aims to create a thriving economy based on a variety of sectors. The deep coffers of the Saudi royal family have guaranteed Saudi Vision 2030 is as diverse as intended, with seemingly no frontier too far. That includes space.

Neo Space Group (NSG) is a global space and satellite services company backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. NSG is an integral part of Saudi Vision 2030, and its benefactors have spared no expense in making it a viable player in the modern space race.

Part of that strategy was to hire Martijn Blanken as its CEO. With an impressive background in digital infrastructure and investment, Blanken’s remit is to take NSG to new heights – literally.

Space leaders

"The company has been set up to be both a national champion as well as an international leader in this industry," Blanken tells The CEO Magazine.

"What does it mean to be a leader in this space? One angle is to make sure the market recognizes NSG as a significant player in the sub-domains of the space economy, so satellite communications, geospatial observation and remote sensing. Some of these sub-industries are very cutting edge, but as we mature, it will make sense to move into those spaces as well."

Another part of his leadership plan is to maintain NSG as an employer people are proud to join and develop themselves within.

"And of course, you can’t justify your existence without a good return on investment," he adds. "By 2030 we aim to achieve all this and more."

The launchpad for this interstellar mission is a field Blanken is very familiar with.

"I spent most of my career in telecoms and technology, so to come into satellites and space, I find I’m applying the learnings from my experience," he says.

"More and more organizations are becoming dependent on satellite communication and geospatial services, and this will continue to evolve in importance. If you look at the overall space industry – deep space explorations, space manufacturing, human space travel – we’re only scratching the surface at the moment.

"In 15 years, that economy will have evolved dramatically, and we’re keen to play a role in that."

Future potential

Already, NSG is a company of over 500 people and revenues of around US$100 million. Blanken expects that to grow quickly.

"You need to start somewhere. For us, it’s a crawl, walk, run, sprint, fly approach. You can’t do it all at once," he says. "So the focus for us is satellites and geospatial services as well as operating the assets used to provide these services. Over time, we’ll potentially look into adjacent industries, where a lot of really exciting stuff is happening."

One of those is space manufacturing, which Blanken says has the potential to produce quality far beyond what’s possible on Earth.

"Not too long from now, some manufacturing processes will simply move to space and no longer be produced on Earth, especially those that benefit from zero or microgravity. Some molecule structures behave quite differently when in space than here on Earth," he says.

He explains the next decade will reveal much about the potential of space and the industries sprouting in its sizable shadow.

"You begin with economic diversification," he says. "We’re hoping NSG will have made a substantial contribution to a meaningful space economy here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, so a percentage of the overall GDP."

Tourism, mining, oil and gas and agriculture are industries Blanken believes stand to gain much from the space sector.

"As an industry, space is a frontier, and it’s allowing people to develop careers they didn’t think was possible," he says. "Especially in Saudi Arabia, where a very substantial cultural change is happening. That’s what good can look like in 10 years."

For Blanken himself, the risks associated with the nebulous fortunes of space are something he feels comfortable with.

"I’m willing to take those risks and try new things. When I got the call to consider this opportunity, I didn’t hesitate," he says.

"It doesn’t happen very often. And what gets me out of bed in the morning is to be able to look back on my career and say, ‘OK, I’ve made a small contribution to this particular venture or life or company. It was fun to be a part of it, and we helped people to advance.’"

Immediate goals on Earth

In the meantime, NSG has much to get done on terra firma. In late 2024, it acquired UP42, a geospatial marketplace that aggregates data and analytics from a pool of over 80 industry providers. Blanken says UP42’s valuable archive of data will be an asset to the global community.

"It sounds like a cliche, but you have to put the customer at the center of everything you do," Blanken says. "You can have all the cool technology you like, but if you don’t constantly ask yourself, ‘How will it benefit the end customer?’ it’s not going to fly."

NSG’s satellite communication services are compelling, Blanken adds, and have uses beyond what’s immediately apparent.

"We hope to prove that we can make these use cases possible in ways people haven’t even thought of," he says.

"When you think about geospatial and the newer areas of the space economy, they allow new use cases not currently possible. There’s literally not a single industry that would not benefit from the insights we could gain from geospatial technology."