Astranis announced a $ 250 million round of C-Series funding, valuing the company at $ 1.4 billion.
The funding was managed by funds managed by Black stone, with significant participation from new investors Bailey Gifford,, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC,, Koch’s strategic platforms,, Monashee Investment Management, and Unrelated enterprises.
Existing investors Andressen Horowitz,, Venrock,, Fifty years,, ACE partners at an early stage, Harpoon Ventures,, Fund indicator,, Industrial enterprises,, Jaan Tallinn,, Jeff Dean,, Jerry Young’s AME Cloud,, Jude Gomila, Refactor Capital,, Rising Tide Fund,, SOMA Capital, and others also participated in the round. BofA Securities, Inc.. acted as the sole accommodation agent in that transaction.
Astranis says the company is addressing one of the biggest challenges facing the modern world, namely reducing the cost of Internet access to attract the next four billion people online.
The new funding will be used to significantly expand the production of Astranis’ small platform, built to meet the significant global demand for affordable broadband. In addition, Astranis will accelerate research and development of new technologies to support its next-generation platforms. This includes the company’s own technology, software-defined radio (SDR), which increases satellite performance and flexibility and allows production to scale, reducing the price point for end users.
Astranis satellites can be low cost and built in months, not years. This is unlike traditional satellites, which require hundreds of millions of dollars in capital and five or more years to gain new capacity online.
The smaller size of Astranis satellites – only 350 kg or about 20 times smaller than traditional satellites – and their location in the Geostationary Orbit (GEO) allows Astranis to start providing coverage with just one MicroGEO satellite and deliver capacity online quickly, focusing broadband beams exactly where needed.
Astranis is working around the world on satellite deployment projects to connect with some of the world’s least served areas.
“We are solving one of the biggest problems facing the world today“, Said the co-founder and CEO of Astranis John Hedmark. “Four billion people do not have reliable access to broadband internet. Getting connected to those who need the most change lives in a profound way. It enables people to take control of their health, education and economic situation. We are talking about something that is now absolutely part of the basis of the hierarchy of needs.”