“We are delighted to welcome NewSpace Capital as one of Cailabs’ investors. With their support and the ongoing backing of several of our long-standing partners, we aim to become the market leader in optical ground stations and expand our range of services to include maritime, aeronautical (aircraft, drones) and terrestrial links.”
Link to the Cailabs article: Cailabs article
Building on its technological and commercial expertise in bringing innovative photonic products to market, the Rennes-based company Cailabs is today raising €26 million to support the development of its optical ground station solutions.
The funding round was led by NewSpace Capital, a Luxembourg-based investor, with the support of existing investors: Definvest (a specialist investment fund of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, managed by Bpifrance in consultation with the Directorate General of Armament), Starquest, Innovacom, Safran Corporate Venture and Crédit Agricole Ille-et-Vilaine Expansion.
Playing a major role in the development of satellites in orbit (the number of which is, according to some studies, set to exceed 100,000 by 2030), laser communications are set to expand in order to ensure Earth-to-space links, due to the increasing saturation of radio frequencies.
The innovative optical ground station designed by Cailabs is the result of the expertise gained during the development of its previous ranges of optical products. Incorporating a unique atmospheric turbulence compensation technology developed by Cailabs, this ground station enables fast, reliable and affordable Earth-to-space laser links.
Cailabs, founded in 2013, initially focused on the long-distance telecommunications market, leading to a world record for fibre-optic data rates in 2017 in collaboration with the Japanese operator KDDI. The company transformed this record into a product designed to optimise data throughput in local networks, upgrading more than 5,000 connections worldwide for hospitals, universities and factories. It has expanded its scope with innovative materials processing solutions. These successes are based on a combination of unique optical technologies developed by Cailabs and the expertise of its team. These capabilities are once again being harnessed to deliver revolutionary solutions to the challenge of communication through the atmosphere.
Jean-François Morizur, co-founder and CEO of Cailabs, states: “ ‘We are delighted to welcome NewSpace Capital as one of Cailabs’ investors. With their support and the ongoing backing of several of our long-standing partners, we aim to become the market leader in optical ground stations and expand our range of services to include naval, aeronautical (aircraft, drones) and terrestrial links.’
The law firm Joffe & Associés (Thomas Saltiel, Camille Malbezin, Carla Ferron) assisted and advised the parties during this transaction, alongside the consultancy firm Forrest Advisers (Ramsey Forrest).
Partners: Thomas SALTIEL , Carla FERRON et Camille MALBEZIN.
