Sateliot拟将融资规模提高至1.5亿欧元推进手机直连卫星

A person working at a Sateliot satellite center in Barcelona.

Satellite startup Sateliot is seeking to boost an ongoing fundraising round to as much as €150 million ($172 million), about a 50% increase as the Spanish company aims to offer satellite connectivity directly to smartphones.

The Barcelona-based company operates a network of low-Earth orbit satellites that can connect to different devices.

“A new opportunity has emerged: integrating 5G within a satellite,” Chief Executive Officer Jaume Sanpera said in an interview.

Sateliot originally announced it was looking to raise about €100 million in April.

Europe has been ramping up investment in satellites and other space assets as part of a broader buildup of strategic infrastructure, and to avoid becoming overly dependent on Elon Musk’s more advanced Starlink constellation.

The European Space Agency is seeking to deploy €22 billion in the next three years, and the European Commission put forward a proposal to reserve certain airwaves suitable for direct-to-device satellite communication for domestic players.

Read more: Europe vs. SpaceX in Satellite Network Fight: Business of Space

It isn’t clear who will bid for that spectrum. IRIS², the European constellation built by a consortium led by Eutelsat Communications SA , SES SA and Hispasat SA , will initially focus on broadband services rather than direct-to-device connectivity.

Sateliot plans to use the funding to deploy 16 satellites over the next year, offering direct-to-device communication through partnerships with network operators, such as Telefonica SA and work with telecommunication companies to offer network coverage in remote areas.

The company was founded in 2018 to connect devices like shipping trackers and utility sensors that could stay online via satellites.

The company expects to launch larger, more capable satellites that add direct connectivity to ordinary smartphones by early 2028. These will enable data, voice and video services based on 5G, while continuing to support other devices. Sateliot is working with Telefonica on the technology underpinning those direct-to-smartphone links.

Sanpera also said that the additional €50 million the company is seeking could be raised as debt. The funding round was initially expected to close in summer. Sateliot is working to bring in a lead investor and keep the round open to both new and existing shareholders, it said at the time. In addition, it anticipates as much as 50% public co-financing.

Satellite Connect Europe — a joint venture between Vodafone Group Plc and US satellite firm AST SpaceMobile , with partnerships with other European operators such as Orange SA and the CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd . firms — is working to provide a similar service. It’s unclear whether the venture could bid for the spectrum reserved for European firms, given the US company holds 50%.