INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
One of the biggest opportunities in the new space economy lies in taking the connectivity made possible by ever-growing communications
satellite constellations and making that useful for things and companies here on Earth
Startup Skylo, which emerged from stealth today with a $103 million Series B funding announcement, is one of the players making that
This new round was led by SoftBank Group (which at this point carries a complicated set of connotations) and includes existing investors
more, to satellite networks using the cellular-based Narrowband IoT protocol
Its network is already deployed on current geostationary satellites, too, meaning its customers can get up and running without waiting for
any new satellites or constellations with dedicated technology to launch.Skylo has completed tests of its technology with commercial
partners in real-world usage, including partners in private enterprise and government, across industries including fisheries, maritime
logistics, automotive and more
with hardware that sells for less than $100, which it says adds up to a cost savings of as much as 95% versus other satellite IoT
connectivity available on the market.Its hardware, the Skylo Hub, is a satellite terminal that connects to its network on board
special expertise.The company was founded in 2017 by CEO Parth Trivedi, CTO Dr
Andrew Nuttall and Chief Hub Architect Dr
Trivedi is an MIT Aerospace and Astronautical engineering graduate; Nuttall has a Ph.D in Aeronautics from Stanford; and Kalman is a
Stanford professor who previously founded CubeSat component kit startup Pumpkin, Inc.
