Isotropic Systems raises $40m for multi-beam satellite antenna
The strategic investment from Boeing HorizonX Global Ventures, satellite operator SES and UK Government will be used to bring the multi-beam antenna to market for space and aerospace applications. This brings the total investment to $60m.
The company plans to open a 20,000 sq. ft test lab in Reading and ramp up with 150 jobs with its first terminal set to launch in early 2022 for new satellite constellations.
The patented radio frequency optics technology enables the high-performance multi-beam antenna to simultaneously link with multiple satellites in multiple orbits without any compromise in the performance of each link.
The funding round also included investment from deep-tech venture capital firm Promus Ventures through its Luxembourg based space investment fund, Orbital Ventures.
The terminal production aims to coincide with the launch of constellations from UK-owned OneWeb as well as Amazon’s Kepler and established operators Inmarsat, Intelsat, SES and Telesat.
“We are building our next-generation system, O3b mPOWER, together with innovators like Isotropic Systems,” said SES CEO Steve Collar. “Isotropic’s multi-beam antenna plays an important role in our multi-orbit strategy and is a key enabler for advanced satellite services on land, in the air and at sea. Our investment reflects the potential that we believe this breakthrough technology has for SES and for the industry as a whole.”
“Isotropic Systems is extremely well positioned to unlock a new age of high-powered, multi-orbit connectivity with our next-gen multi-beam antenna,” said John Finney, Isotropic Systems Founder and CEO.
“As one satellite constellation after another is announced for launch in future years, our technology is unique in that it allows service providers and end users to take the best of the many thousands of satellites going into orbit using a single integrated terminal, unlocking the demand for the satellite industry as a whole, radically changing the way bandwidth services are delivered to end-users and vastly exceeding the capability of any single satellite system,” he said.
“This unique, cost-effective solution has allowed us to attract world class investment support from our industry, which in turn will allow us to unlock significant export revenue for the UK economy and across the satellite sector. As we grow our UK-based team, collaborative partnerships and capabilities, we are proud to support tech innovation in the UK to solve connectivity challenges across a broad range of key vertical and geographical markets around the world.”
“Constellations and launch companies are already getting a lot of attention with their disruptive products and services and now key areas such as ground segment connectivity are likely to attract the next wave of investment, and this UK company is leading the charge,” said Gareth Keane, partner at Orbital Ventures/Promus Ventures.
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