Ravee Optics announced an oversubscribed $6 million seed funding round to advance laser communication systems designed to move large volumes of data across satellite networks. The round was led by BIG Capital, a Vietnam-based investment firm with several space technology investments. JobsOhio Ventures and CincyTech also participated in the financing.
The funding follows Ravee’s graduation from the Seraphim Space Accelerator in 2025. The company plans to use the investment to support continued engineering and product development as it works toward testing in space and broader deployments across satellite networks.
Ravee Optics is based in Dayton, Ohio, and was founded by Piyush Shah and Augustine Urbas. The founders bring decades of experience in optical technology, including work connected to the Air Force Research Lab in Dayton.
The company is focused on solving a growing data bottleneck in space. As internet usage, AI workloads, satellite networks, and potential orbital data centers drive demand for greater data movement, Ravee is developing systems to move information between satellites more quickly and efficiently.
Ravee’s initial focus is building ultra-compact optical communications terminals for on-orbit data transport. The company’s systems use lasers to transmit data between satellites, offering faster communication than traditional approaches.
The company said its hardware is smaller, lighter, and easier to produce in large volumes. This design approach is intended to make optical communications more deployable across large satellite networks.
By redesigning how these optical communication systems are built, Ravee said it can deliver significantly more data using smaller and lighter hardware. The company said its technology can move up to 10 to 100 times more data than current standards.
Ravee has already generated early revenue through testing programs and has demonstrated its core optics technology through a U.S. Air Force program. The company is working with government and commercial partners as it moves toward eventual deployment.
The investment also reflects growing interest in the space economy from regional investors. CincyTech said the Ravee investment marks its entry into the space economy and supports its focus on backing companies solving meaningful problems in expanding markets.
JobsOhio Ventures said Ravee is leveraging Ohio’s space and defense technology ecosystem, including access to the Air Force Research Lab, to develop satellite communication capabilities for military and commercial use cases.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are building ultra-compact optical communications terminals to serve the growing demand for on-orbit data transport. We built our technology to address this challenge at scale with revolutionary optics technology and design for manufacturing to enable wider deployment of optical communications across the future space ecosystem.”
Piyush Shah, Co-Founder of Ravee Optics
“What stands out about Ravee is their focus on building smaller and lighter systems that can be produced and deployed at scale—across large and growing satellite networks.”
Lt. Gen. John F. Thompson, Advisor to Ravee Optics and Board Member
“AI is driving a surge in data in space, and the systems to move that data haven’t kept up. Ravee is focused on solving that bottleneck with an approach built for scale. This investment marks our entry into the space economy and reflects our focus on backing companies solving real problems in growing markets.”
Emma Off, CEO of CincyTech
“We are delighted with the progress that Ravee Optics has made since graduating from the Seraphim Space Accelerator in 2025. Gaining early commercial revenues, and playing into the needs of defense markets and a strong investor base point to a very promising trajectory for the team.”
Alexander Holt, Managing Director of Seraphim Space Enterprise
“As our nation continues its pursuit to advance technology and communication in space, Ohio innovators have a unique advantage to develop both military and commercial partnerships that can move these innovations forward. Ravee is leveraging these exceptional resources, including the AFRL, to pioneer new ways to more rapidly move data and messaging via satellite and strengthen our national defense.”
J.P. Nauseef, President and CEO of JobsOhio
