Insider Brief
- Loft Orbital has announced the completion of its $170 million Series C funding round led by Tikehau Capital and co-led by Axial Partners, the round also included participation from Bpifrance, Foundation Capital, Temasek, and Uncork Capital.
- The funding supports Loft’s vision of expanding its satellite fleet and advancing real-time space insights powered by AI.
- By 2025, Loft expects to operate one of the largest heterogeneous satellite fleets in Low Earth Orbit. The funding will help the company meet growing demand from sectors like climate monitoring, national security, and global connectivity.
Loft Orbital, a company specializing in rapid satellite deployment and mission operations, has announced the completion of its $170 million Series C funding round. Led by Tikehau Capital and co-led by Axial Partners, the round also included participation from Bpifrance, Foundation Capital, Temasek, and Uncork Capital. The funding supports Loft’s vision of expanding its satellite fleet and advancing real-time space insights powered by AI.
Scaling Operations to Fleet Level
Since its inception in 2017, Loft has aimed to simplify satellite deployment and operation. The company’s infrastructure prioritizes speed, reliability, and scalability over traditional, highly customized satellite designs. Loft’s core products include the Hub, a modular payload adapter, and Cockpit, a mission operations software. These tools decouple mission payloads from the underlying satellite, enabling faster and more predictable deployment.
By 2025, Loft expects to operate one of the largest heterogeneous satellite fleets in Low Earth Orbit. The funding will help the company meet growing demand from sectors like climate monitoring, national security, and global connectivity.
Expanding into Real-Time Space Insights
While Loft’s current focus is rapid satellite deployment, its long-term vision involves transforming how space data is used. The company is investing in AI-enabled satellites equipped with onboard compute capabilities and always-on connectivity. This infrastructure supports real-time event detection and monitoring, a departure from traditional satellite operations that rely on delayed data retrieval and analysis.
Loft is already running AI applications on its YAM-6 satellite for partners such as Microsoft and Helsing. The company plans to expand its ecosystem of AI application partners and aims to make deploying AI apps on its satellites seamless and self-service.
Image credit: Loft Orbital
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