Univity, a satellite internet startup, has also secured a €31 million contract from the French space agency CNES, totalling €68 million in backing to support efforts to launch over 3000 satellites.
A European competitor is seeking to challenge American dominance of telecom satellites, with €68m of French investment. Univity closed a round of Series A funding on Thursday with support from French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance, investment platform Blast and venture capital fund Expansion, among others.
The €68m backing will see Univity launch the first two satellites, before transitioning to an infrastructure financing model for large-scale deployment over the next two years, with the support of “deep-pocketed investors” such as infrastructure funds and telecoms operators.
Directly connecting with telecoms operators
Founded in 2022, Univity aims to challenge industry giants like Starlink and Amazon(who sell connectivity directly to consumers) by instead targeting telecoms operators, sharing infrastructure and selling space-based internet and mobile services. Agreements have already been signed with 16 operators across four continents.
The partnerships highlight the growing demand among telecom firms seeking to integrate satellite connectivity into their networks.
“In this new era of satellite communication pushed by Starlink and Amazon, mass production and recurrent prices have become the battle[field],” said CEO Charles Delfieux, who left a job at the World Bank to start Univity.
“One way to provide highly competitive services to our clients is to internalize production.”
Delivering a European fleet of satellites, with European production
With production based near Toulouse, Univity plans to build a fleet of up to 3,400 satellites in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) — around 375 km (233 miles) above Earth — making it Europe’s largest satellite operator. For comparison, Starlink has around 10,000 satellites in orbit, while Amazon Leo plans to launch around 7,000.
The push reflects a broader trend where telecom operators globally are signing deals with satellite providers to extend coverage in remote areas.
Such partnerships help bridge connectivity gaps where upgrading terrestrial infrastructure would be more costly.