Sofant raises £4.2m for mobile satellite terminal, signs defence contract
RF MEMS expert Sofant Technologies in Edinburgh has raised £4.2m (€4.8m) and signed a key development contract with a global defence technology developer.
The funding will be used to continue the development of a mobile satellite terminal with its proprietary, highly-efficient radio platform. The company raised €7.3m in November last year for the development of the terminal, which Sofant plans to launch next year
The fundraising was supported by existing investors EMV Capital, Kelvin Capital, Scottish Enterprise, and the British Business Bank’s Future Fund. This brings the total raised to $28.9m according to CrunchBase.
Sofant is also aiming at 5G and national security applications, signing a deal with an unnamed Global Fortune 500 corporation to support the development of a next-generation tactical communications system.
“We are very pleased to have investors who understand the disruptive nature of Sofant’s [RF MEMS] technology. When Sofant closed the previous funding round we told our investors we would demonstrate our core technology, which occurred in June of 2022,” said David Wither, chief executive at Sofant.
“The company has also secured its first commercial deal with a leading defence contractor. The war in Ukraine has highlighted the critical importance of communications to national security.”
“Investors love disruptors, and Sofant is the perfect example of why disruptors have so much potential. The company has already delivered on the promises it made during its previous funding round, which is what’s given our syndicate the confidence to invest in the business again,” said John McNicol, founder and director at Kelvin Capital.
“Reducing the power and cost of communications systems is vital to unleash the potential of digital technology, bringing benefits for businesses and their customers around the world. Sofant demonstrates Scotland at its best – taking scientific breakthroughs from our world-class universities and developing them into practical applications for our everyday lives.”
“We are delighted with Sofant’s tremendous progress in their development roadmap. They continue to make a key contribution to the UK’s space tech and telecoms sectors by developing a key component for increased resilience and energy efficiency in SatComs and other telecommunications systems,” said Ilian Iliev, managing director at EMV Capital.
“We also congratulate Sofant on their first commercial agreement with a leading defence contractor, as global awareness of the critical importance of communications to national security increases. We expect Sofant to play a significant role in future communication systems and are very pleased that its value is already recognised by industry leaders.”
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