Find original article published by TelcoTians here.
- Sateliot CEO Jaume Sanpera says operator’s backlog of contracts are set to deliver €250m in annual revenue once it switches on commercial NB-IoT satellite services during 2025.
- Close collaboration with MNOs to connect additional end users to its network set to drive startup towards its target of reaching €1bn in annual revenue by 2030.
- Work ongoing to connect “hundreds of thousands” of devices in countries like Brazil and the USA.
- Sateliot looks to explore new markets by expanding satellite constellation capabilities, aiming to launch its next fleet of satellites in 2026.
Jaume Sanpera, Chief Executive at Spanish satellite IoT startup Sateliot, has reaffirmed the business’ goal of reaching €1bn in total annual revenue by 2030, with mobile network operator partnerships set to play a key role in getting there.
Speaking with TelcoTitans, Sanpera acknowledged that the jump from zero annual revenue to €1bn is a “large step”, but that cooperation with MNOs will enable Sateliot to build on a backlog of service contracts and “catch up with our goals”.
Sanpera said that Sateliot has signed ‘binding’ orders with end customers already, covering connections to “more than ten million” devices. These will be activated once the provider launches commercial services, which it plans to during 2025. He claimed these deals will deliver around €250m in annual revenue.
While Sanpera noted these early sales come “without the help of the mobile operators”, he highlighted that tie-ups with telcos will provide a further boost to uptake and revenue. He said Sateliot is currently aiming to activate “hundreds of thousands” of devices onto its network in countries like Brazil and the USA.
Given the potential sales increase from MNO relationships, he claimed the €1bn annual revenue target “doesn’t sound [as] incredible as it may seem”.
“ I always say that if we, from Barcelona, are… capable of signing half a million devices in Brazil, how many devices can [the] mobile operators of these countries sign directly? It will be a huge number compared with what we are able to. Then, the market is very large. They want the service, and they need to digitise… the rural areas, these remote areas where today there is nothing [in terms of connectivity]. ”
He noted that the Sateliot network is compatible with standardised IoT devices, rather than relying on a bespoke solution, further increasing the number of users it can address.
“ I have to say we have a model that is super-scalable because we don’t need to deploy any device[s]. The devices are going to be powered by the final customer, which are regular, fully standard devices that are already there. ”
Founded in 2018, Sateliot is aiming to deploy a constellation of 100 low-Earth orbit (LEO) ‘nanosatellites’ to support lightweight IoT applications, though with no fixed timeframe, and reduced from a previous target of 250 satellites.
Sanpera claims to have closed deals with 58 MNOs in as many countries, directly connecting them to its NB-IoT satellite constellation through an IPX connection. Major telco collaborators include Deutsche Telekom (with Sateliot as one of multiple SatCos it is collaborating with to launch a direct-to-device offering in Europe) and Telefónica (through trials of Sateliot’s service with the operator’s Kite IoT platform).
Next satellite launch in the works
To further expand its services and customer base, Sanpera noted the business is looking to ramp up satellite manufacturing during 2025 and launch its next wave of spacecraft at the start of 2026. The next fleet will enable Sateliot to address “parts of the market that today we are not able to”, he said.
Sanpera did not specify the number of satellites it intends to launch, but said the expansion will reduce the revisit time of its constellation — the period between each transmission from an IoT device to its satellites.
It later plans to upgrade its constellation to serve “near real-time” use-cases in “around 2027”, before turning its attention to ‘real-time’ capabilities in the future.
Sateliot is set to fuel the construction ramp-up with the €30m loan it received from the European Investment Bank in September 2024, as well as the Series-B funding it announced in September 2024.
Sanpera said the round has so far raised €40m in additional equity, representing an increase of €10m from when Sateliot announced the round, though he did not name the backers providing the additional equity. Cellnex, Global Portfolio Investments, Indra, and SEPIDES raised the other €30m already announced by the SatCo.
It expects to close the Series-B round before summer-2025, according to Sanpera.
Beyond the EIB loan, and in addition to the Series-B round, Sateliot says that it has raised €25m since foundation, which includes an earlier 2024 injection of €6m from Banco Santander, a participatory €2.5m loan from Spanish public company Avança, and €5m from a convertible note. Joining its Spanish backers, US-based investor EvoNexus contributed seed and Series-A funding.
