Vilnius-based Astrolight, an area communications firm, has closed a Seed spherical at €2.8 million to speed up the event of its laser-based end-to-end communication platform that securely connects satellites to earth.
The funding spherical was led by frontier tech investor Balnord, different key traders had been EIFO (The Export and Funding Fund of Denmark), Coinvest Capital, and current traders 3NGLS and Rita Sakus.
“Our long-term imaginative and prescient is to create the optical spine community for house,” stated Laurynas Mačiulis, CEO and Co-founder of Astrolight. “The quantity of satellites and constellations is rising exponentially, however there’s nonetheless no scalable, safe approach to constantly convey that knowledge again to Earth. With laser communication, we’re closing that hole.”
Astrolight was based in 2019 by an ex-Founder and CTO of Kongsberg Nanoavionics, Laurynas Mačiulis, along with Co-founders Julijanas Želudevičius (Middle for Bodily Sciences and Know-how of Lithuania), Dalius Petrulionis (Mild Conversion), Martynas Milaševičius and Andrius Stankevičius (Vilnius Tech College.)
Astrolight goals to supply end-to-end optical connectivity options by constructing full and self-contained {hardware} for floor and house operational domains. Astrolight designs and manufactures superior optical communication terminals for space-to-Earth, space-to-space, ship-to-ship, and ground-based hyperlinks in aerospace and protection functions, leveraging full vertical integration of its know-how stack to make sure optimum efficiency.
They’re creating a dual-use communication structure that may deal with each space-to-space and space-to-ground optical hyperlinks. The corporate’s purpose is to supply optical communication as a service, connecting Astrolight’s and different suppliers’ optical terminals with its personal floor infrastructure.
Mačiulis revealed the longer term plans, which embrace deployment of the primary operational optical floor station and demonstration of a hybrid space-to-ground and space-to-space optical terminal, which might be primarily based on the corporate’s current ATLAS-1 modular design.
“We’re extremely excited to guide this funding spherical in Astrolight. We imagine their skilled group has developed a very groundbreaking optical communication know-how that’s important to fixing the quickly approaching knowledge bottleneck in house. Their high-speed, jam-resistant options aren’t solely essential for the rising satellite tv for pc market but in addition signify the sort of frontier innovation that can outline the subsequent era of house infrastructure,” shared Jarek Pilarczyk, Working Companion at Balnord.
Earlier this 12 months, Astrolight launched a Danish subsidiary to strengthen collaboration throughout the Nordics and ship safe laser communication options for house property within the Arctic area.
“It is a strategically necessary funding in an organization whose know-how performs an important function in strengthening European house capabilities and resilience. Floor station within the Arctic is a milestone that EIFO is happy to assist as an investor, significantly given the area’s strategic significance to Denmark and EIFO,” stated Louise Flyger, Funding Supervisor at EIFO.
Viktorija Trimbel, Managing Director at Coinvest Capital, added: “Our funding in Astrolight displays our robust perception within the firm’s potential to turn into a worldwide chief in laser communication applied sciences. The group has demonstrated distinctive technical experience, a transparent imaginative and prescient, and the flexibility to execute in a extremely demanding deep-tech house. We’re proud to assist their journey as they revolutionise safe knowledge transmission in house and past.”
Whereas many gamers within the house sector focus solely on laser communication between satellites, Astrolight claims to have been concentrating on the “lacking hyperlink between house and Earth” since its institution.
“The infrastructure we’re constructing is not only a technical answer – it’s a approach to fill the operational hole in how trendy house programs talk,” added Dalius Petrulionis, CTO of Astrolight, added. “They’re utilizing radio frequencies now, however the RF spectrum is restricted, with solely about 20% of space-generated knowledge retrievable. Laser hyperlinks supply greater knowledge charges, distinctive safety, however most significantly, they’ll scale the bandwidth.”
In response to Goldman Sachs Analysis, greater than 70,000 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are anticipated to launch within the subsequent 5 years. Together with these constellations, the demand for space-to-ground connectivity is rising. Lasercom is changing into a aggressive choice to RF, offering extra sturdy hyperlinks and as much as 100 occasions quicker knowledge charges.
“We heard from prospects and companions {that a} full answer is what’s lacking,” Mačiulis stated. “There’s no end-to-end expertise – terminals, satellites, and floor infrastructure working as one.”
Astrolight’s upgraded platform will reportedly enable for higher flexibility in integrating with current satellite tv for pc programs and can assist on-demand laser communication hyperlinks, together with inter-satellite relays and direct-to-Earth downlinks.
The group emphasises that it doesn’t purpose to compete with different constellations or networks however fairly to combine as a complementary infrastructure layer.
“Similar to everybody makes use of the web in the present day with out fascinated about the cables beneath us, we imagine laser communication will turn into the invisible optical spine for the subsequent era of house connectivity,” Mačiulis stated. “It’s not about changing current infrastructure, however fairly about enabling what comes subsequent.”
“Astrolight represents the kind of strategic funding that Europe wants – leveraging our area’s technical excellence to construct sovereign capabilities in essential infrastructure. As house turns into more and more contested, safe communication applied sciences developed right here within the Baltic Sea Area can be important not solely commercially however for Europe’s technological
independence. This group has the uncommon mixture of deep technical experience and clear market imaginative and prescient wanted to reach this difficult sector,” stated Marcin P. Kowalik, Common Companion at Balnord.
