Space tech startup Infostellar raises US$3.5M to become the Airbnb of the satellite community
The ground-segment-as-a-service (GSaaS) provider today, announced another US$3.5 million investment injection for its grand mission of becoming the “Airbnb of the satellite community.”
This new round was joined by existing investors Airbus Ventures and Sony Innovation Fund, and new investors Daiwa Energy Infrastructure, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease and Finance bringing its net total raised to US$11.5 million.
The Tokyo-based startup has disclosed that it plans to use the latest funds to accelerate Infostellar’s business activities, which involves hiring and training and expansion into the European and Asian markets.
Infostellar shares unused antenna access with the global satellite community through a single API, similar to how the Airbnb community rent out their unused space to independent travellers.
Since its launch in 2016, Infostellar has developed StellarStation, a ground station platform that provides flexible and scalable satellite operations. It allows several satellite operators with an average of 500 passes per month through StellarStation.
Additionally, the company also shares contracts with 13 ground station owners in several countries around the world, including government-owned ground stations.
“Infostellar has a unique and competitive business model in the space industry and has already developed or installed the antenna sharing platform for orbiting satellites that incorporates a superior GUI and API,” said Daiwa Energy and Infrastructure Co. Ltd, executive manager, Takuya Tanoue.
In an interview with Techcrunch, founder Naomi Kurahara told the interviewer that she aims to cover communication options outside of the Earth — for example aiding with trips to Mars or other planets.
“The space-age is coming, in that future, the infrastructure is also required, but unfortunately it doesn’t exist today,” the Infostellar CEO said.
“NASA and the US government haven’t built this kind of infrastructure by themselves, I think businesses should develop it,” she added.
In the last six years, space tech has emerged as a promising private industry in Asian countries, including Southeast Asia, as highlighted in this listicle by e27.
What was a long time ago a space race between the US and USSR state-owned agencies, is now joined by privately owned entities.