The best communications & connectivity space startups
21 communications & connectivity companies in the directory, ranked by disclosed funding ($5.6B raised between them), spanning 8 countries.
Getting bits from orbit to the ground and back: broadband constellations, IoT and machine-to-machine connectivity, laser terminals and quantum-secured links. Communications is the oldest business in space and still the one that pays for the most hardware.
Updated 9 October 2026 · 18 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
State of the sector
As of 9 October 2026
This sector moves data. Skylo, Fleet and Geespace connect phones, sensors and cars by satellite. Astranis Space Technologies Corp builds small geostationary satellites that one country or operator buys whole. Kepler Communications and Warpspace relay data between satellites with lasers, and Speqtral and QEYNet work on quantum encryption from orbit.
In August 2026 Kepler Communications declared its optical relay network in commercial service, after launching 33 satellites. Geespace, which has 64 satellites in orbit, won approval in China for a two-year commercial trial. GalaxySpace built the first privately made satellites in China's state Guowang constellation. K2 Space builds much larger satellites, starting with the 20 kW Gravitas.
The sector has seen a lot of consolidation. OneWeb merged into Eutelsat in 2023. York Space Systems agreed to buy Atlas Space in 2025 and Isotropic Systems, now All.Space, in 2026. Audacy, which planned a relay network for other satellites, shut down in 2019.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
OneWeb: Airbus completes the first 32 renewal OneWeb satellites, which ship for a SpaceX launch
Spire: Launches the first three satellites built at its Boulder, Colorado factory on SpaceX Transporter-18
Astranis Space Technologies Corp: Receives a $468M credit facility from the Export-Import Bank of the United States to expand satellite productionSpire: Wins a $33.2M NOAA task order for radio occultation weather data, worth about $66M with options
Kepler Communications: Books launch capacity for ten Tranche-2 relay satellites on Portal’s Motus Via Sol Falcon 9 mission, targeted for mid-2028Astranis Space Technologies Corp: Agrees with stc group to deploy a dedicated satellite for Saudi Arabia, part of Block 3 launching in 2027OneWeb: Eutelsat signs an authorisation to proceed with Airbus for 229 more OneWeb satellites, taking new satellites on order to 669OneWeb: Eutelsat books two dedicated Ariane 64 launches for OneWeb satellites in 2027 and 2028
Isotropic Systems: Wins a Defense Innovation Unit Other Transaction agreement under the Adaptive Space Manufacturing and Integration at Scale (10ⁿ) project
Geespace: Its satellite IoT service goes into factory-fitted mass production for the first time, on Geely’s Galaxy 700 vehicleShow 40 earlier milestones
Kepler Communications: Signs agreements with NorthStar to carry its space-domain-awareness data over Kepler’s optical relay networkSpire: Wins a $28M NOAA contract under TMATE to build and qualify a hyperspectral microwave sounder satellite
GalaxySpace: Lingzhi-09, a cubesat built for Thailand, reaches orbit on a Long March 6C, the company's first export of a whole satellite with its ground systemKepler Communications: Declares its optical data relay network in commercial service after launching 33 satellites; it runs more than ten optical ground stationsGeespace: MIIT approves a two-year commercial trial of its satellite connectivity service in China, where it has 64 satellites in orbit
Speqtral: Takes operational control of SpeQtre as experiments begin
K2 Space: Raises a $500M Series D at a $6.8B valuation, led by Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ; it has about $1B of signed contractsAstranis Space Technologies Corp: A power system anomaly found before launch on one Block 3 satellite affects all five satellites sharing its Falcon 9 rideIsotropic Systems: York Space Systems completes its acquisition of ALL.SPACE, which becomes a wholly owned York subsidiary
Warpspace: Agrees with Singapore’s Transcelestial to test interoperability between their optical systems
Skylo: Partners with Space42 to deliver standards-based direct-to-device service over the Thuraya-4 geostationary satelliteAstranis Space Technologies Corp: Raises a $300M Series E co-led by Snowpoint Ventures and Franklin Templeton, plus up to $155M in debtSpire: Opens a Munich factory it says can build up to 100 satellites a yearIsotropic Systems: York Space Systems agrees to acquire the company, which continues as All.Space under CEO Paul McCarterK2 Space: Gravitas, its first free-flying satellite, launches on Transporter-16: about two tonnes, a 40 m solar array span and 20 kW of powerGalaxySpace: Begins A-share IPO tutoring after a Series C from Beijing government fundsSpeqtral: SKY Perfect JSAT takes a stake and forms a business partnershipSpeqtral: SpeQtre CubeSat deployed from Falcon 9 Transporter-15
BridgeSat: Voyager Technologies acquires its optical terminal and ground station technology after years of inactivity
Fleet: Opens a 5,300 m² satellite and sensor hyperfactory at Adelaide AirportSpire: NOAA awards $11.2M for GNSS radio occultation weather dataAstranis Space Technologies Corp: Wins a prime contract for the first phase of the Space Force’s Protected Tactical SATCOM Global (PTS-G) programGalaxySpace: Nine of its satellites become the first privately built spacecraft in the state Guowang megaconstellationSkylo: Pixel Watch 4 becomes the first smartwatch with standards-based two-way satellite messagingSpire: Receives an NYSE non-compliance notice after restating two years of financials
Atlas Space: York Space Systems’ parent agrees to acquire ATLAS, which keeps its brand and Traverse City baseSpire: Closes the sale of its maritime business to Kpler for about $233.5M and retires its debtFleet: Makes its first acquisition, buying hard-rock seismic company HiSeisSkylo: Raises an oversubscribed $30M led by NGP Capital to scale direct-to-device service worldwideK2 Space: Heritage, the company’s first demonstration satellite, reaches low Earth orbit
QEYNet: Canadian Space Agency contributes over CA$1.4M for an Earth-to-space quantum key distribution demonstrationAstranis Space Technologies Corp: Four MicroGEO satellites launch together on a dedicated Falcon 9Warpspace: Closes a Series B through alliances with Udom and Kohoku KogyoQEYNet: Canadian Space Agency awards CA$439,000 to adapt its quantum transmitter for space-based key distributionSkylo: Verizon adopts Skylo for satellite emergency messaging on NTN-capable Android phonesSkylo: Google’s Pixel 9 ships Satellite SOS over Skylo, its first Tier-1 smartphone integrationGalaxySpace: Runs China's first overseas LEO broadband trial, in ThailandAstranis Space Technologies Corp: Unveils Omega, a next-generation MicroGEO with five times the throughput
Miles Space: Acquired by RocketStar; founder Wes Faler becomes its chief technology officerSkylo: Opens commercial direct-to-device service across the US and Canada on the 3GPP NTN standardNew in communications & connectivity
All 21 communications & connectivity companies
Ranked by disclosed funding.
OneWeb AcquiredHigh speed internet satellite constellation
Astranis Space Technologies Corp Small dedicated GEO satellites
K2 Space Mega-class satellite buses
Kepler Communications High-bandwidth data and IoT
Isotropic Systems AcquiredHigh-bandwidth satellite terminals
Spire GraduatedSpace to cloud analytics
Audacy Shut downAnytime and seamless space connectivity
Analytical Space DormantHigh-speed data connection
Atlas Space AcquiredSatellite communications as a service
BridgeSat AcquiredLaser communication terminals
Fleet IoT Connectivity
GalaxySpace Mass-producing broadband satellites
Geespace Geely's satellite constellation for connected cars
Miles Space AcquiredPropulsion and space communications
mu Space In-space communication
QEYNet Microsatellite quantum key network
Skylo Satellite IoT connectivity
SpaceChain Blockchain-based satellite network
Speqtral Quantum networks in space
Utowave Shut downInternet constellation
Warpspace Optical relay between satellites
How many communications & connectivity space startups are there in 2026?
Space Bandits tracks 21 communications & connectivity companies, 12 of them active, with $5.6B in disclosed funding between them.
What is the latest news from communications & connectivity startups?
The most recent milestone on record is from OneWeb, dated 2 October 2026: "Airbus completes the first 32 renewal OneWeb satellites, which ship for a SpaceX launch."
How many communications & connectivity startups have shut down?
2 of the 21 have shut down, and 1 more have shown no public activity for years. The graveyard records how each one ended.
Follow communications & connectivity startups
Founder interviews and the most promising space startups, straight to your inbox. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.