CesiumAstro Inc., an Austin-based startup developing on-satellite communication devices, said June 18 that it has raised $65 million from investors to help it further develop its technologies and expand its team.
The new extension to its series B funding round was led by Los Angeles-area venture capital firm Trousdale Ventures, which has backed hypersonic flight companies and startups in health and wellness and dune buggies. Other investors included Development Bank of Japan Inc., Quanta Computer Inc., Kleiner Perkins, Lavrock Ventures, L3Harris Technologies, InMotion Ventures, Matter Venture Partners, MESH Ventures and Assembly Ventures.
The new investment brings the startup's total funding since its founding in 2017 to $156 million.
The startup, led by founder and CEO Shey Sabripour, is headquartered in Austin at 13215 Bee Cave Parkway. It also has offices in El Segundo, California, Broomfield, Colorado, and the United Kingdom.
The new funding comes just over two years after it raised a $60 million round that was co-led by Airbus Ventures and Forever Ventures. Since that round, the company has inked a $5 million contract with the Department of Defense’s Space Development Agency and a $3.6 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to install its technology in an unmanned aircraft. It also added former U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry as a strategic advisor on U.S. national security matters.
CesiumAstro has developed a variety of software and hardware products used in space communications. Its Viero transmitters and receivers, for example, operate on a multi-beam system that can send and receive multiple signals simultaneously and can handle a large amount of data. The systems can last up to 12 years on satellites in low Earth orbit.
While the company may be most known for its government contracts, it has also been exploring business in other markets.
“CesiumAstro's full-mission payloads for space and air have huge potential to enable the next generation of connectivity solutions,” Masao Masuda, managing executive officer at Development Bank of Japan, stated. “To deliver those advancements, DBJ is excited to help CesiumAstro form connections in space and non-space industries, including in Japan.”
The company has been growing quickly. It roughly doubled its headcount from 100 to more than 200 in the past year. A company spokesperson said it intends to expand its team in Austin, but declined to cite any specific numbers. The spokesperson said the company is also evaluating opportunities to expand its headquarters within the Austin metro.
