Those investing include Alven, Expansion, Omnes and CNES, the French national space agency. Heartcore, the European fund that has previously lead Skynopy’s investments, also participated in the round.
This investment supports the startup’s ambition to deploy a global network of high-throughput ground stations (S, X and Ka bands),
Skynopy says the funding will allow accelerate its commercial deployment. Specifically, secure the resources for its AKAR project (using S, X and Ka bands). Planned for 2028, it will enable real-time satellite data downlink services. Particularly suitable for Earth observation constellations, the company highlighted.
The funding will also help expand its technical and marketing teams.
Turning point
“This fundraising marks a turning point,” said Pierre Bertrand, co-founder and CEO. “In less than 18 months, we have demonstrated that an agile, interoperable, and CAPEX-free model can compete with industry giants.
“Thanks to our investors’ confidence, we will now deploy a large-scale network capable of meeting the growing needs of satellite operators, ensuring both performance and ease of use.”
Skynopy
In less than a year, Skynopy has added more 15 antennas to its network. It is combining third-party ground station integrations and strategic partnerships (AWS, Kinéis) with deployments of its own antennas.
It says AKAR will deliver a service that reduces revisit time to under 20 minutes and doubles the data download volume per satellite pass.
The company’s headquarters are in Paris.
As-a-service
According to Skynopy, it is bringing the “as-a-service” model to the satellite ground segment. The investor Alven commented:
“By integrating the best existing infrastructure and focusing on practical, user-oriented value, Skynopy has built – in just a few short months – a service that is already being adopted by strategic clients,” said François Meteyer, Partner at Alven.
“We were particularly impressed by the team’s deep technical expertise, sharp commercial understanding of the market, and above all, their remarkable speed of execution. We are confident they have what it takes to become the next global leader in the satellite ground segment.”
Images: Skynopy – co-founders Antonin Hirsch (CTO) and Pierre Bertrand (CEO)
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