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Marble’s satellite (small scale model) at JSI headquarter in downtown Tokyo together with the company’s management in May 2026, Credit: Marble Imaging
Marble strengthens the activities in Taiwan addressing rising demand for Earth Observation services in areas such as maritime awareness, infrastructure monitoring, and security
The company enters the Japanese market with Japan Space Imaging (JSI) to introduce Marble’s next-generation Earth Observation capabilities
Marble Imaging is strengthening its activities in Asia, with Taiwan playing an important role alongside Japan. Taiwan offers a highly relevant ecosystem for Marble: a strong technology and industrial base, growing space ambitions, and increasing demand for resilient, satellite-based information services.
A key milestone is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Taiwan Ocean University. The MoU provides a foundation for closer cooperation in maritime applications, Earth Observation-based analytics, and the development of future use cases. It also reflects Marble’s ambition to build trusted, long-term partnerships with leading institutions in Taiwan.
In parallel, Marble is actively exchanging with local partners from industry and academia. These discussions focus on identifying concrete collaboration opportunities, understanding regional needs, and exploring how European and Taiwanese capabilities can complement each other - particularly in areas where timely and actionable satellite-based insights can support decision-making.
Marble-team amongst other German companies during a market entry program by the German Ministry of Economics in Taiwan in May 2026, Credit: AHK Taiwan
To support these activities, Marble now has a business development manager based in Taiwan and intends to expand its presence in the market step by step. This local presence enables closer engagement with partners, a better understanding of regional requirements, and a more structured approach to developing long-term opportunities.
Taiwan is also highly relevant from a broader regional perspective. Southeast Asia presents a strong market opportunity for Earth Observation services, driven by extensive coastlines, strategic maritime routes, fast-growing infrastructure, environmental challenges, and increasing security needs. This creates demand for applications such as Maritime Domain Awareness, infrastructure monitoring, disaster response, environmental monitoring, and security-related analytics.
Japan - a strong geopolitical partner
At the same time Marble starts a new chapter by entering the Japanese market and exploring new opportunities together with one of the region’s leading Earth Observation companies, Japan Space Imaging (JSI).
“Japan has always been at the forefront of space technology and Earth Observation. We are convinced that our future satellite constellation and its related security analytics will provide significant geostrategic value for our partners here”, says Alexander Epp, Co-Founder and Chief Business Development Officer of Marble Imaging.
Marble’s constellation, with its first satellite scheduled for launch in February 2027, will deliver very high-resolution multispectral Earth Observation data with rapid revisit capabilities. The data will serve as the foundation for advanced analytics like object and anomaly detection, terrain and trafficability assessments, maritime security analytics, and satellite-based AIS data for governmental and commercial users.
Bundesratspräsident Andreas Bovenschulte, Marble’s Alexander Epp, JSI’s Taishi Ezaki and Masahiro Kikuchi at German embassy reception ceremony in Tokyo in May 2026, Credit: Marble Imaging
“We are pleased to partner with Marble Imaging and support the introduction of its next-generation Earth Observation capabilities to the Japanese market. We particularly value the combination of very high-resolution imagery and rapid revisit capabilities, which can contribute to improved situational awareness, security operations, and infrastructure monitoring. Through this strategic collaboration, we also look forward to exploring future joint initiatives and developing innovative EO-based solutions together for both Japanese and international customers”, says Masahiro Kikuchi, CEO of JSI.
German embassy reception ceremony in Tokyo in May 2026, Credit: Marble Imaging
Beyond commercial opportunities, Marble seeks to open the door for future joint research and development initiatives focusing on enhancing situational awareness and advancing EO-based solutions for both the Japanese and German markets.