Skylo, a company powering commercially available and seamless direct-to-device satellite connectivity, announced a $30 million oversubscribed funding round led by NGP Capital. And Westly Group joined the round, and existing investors Intel Capital, BMW i Ventures, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Next47, and others also participated.
The company also expanded its commercial coverage area by adding Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and additional regions after just introducing its service on major Tier-1 smartphones and partner carriers.
Skylo is the largest standards-based direct-to-device network, enabling smartphones, vehicles, and IoT devices to connect via satellite when cellular networks are unavailable. Unlike other satellite service providers, Skylo pioneered an integrated experience from the ground up with a broad, standards-based ecosystem of partners, from chipset makers to module and device manufacturers, certification testing labs, and SIM providers. Skylo offers its service to leading mobile network operators and MVNOs worldwide to complement their terrestrial networks.
This expansion of Skylo’s service also includes commercial service covering the entirety of the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories, as well as additional continents with coverage in Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand. And this geographic expansion is delivered in partnership with Viasat, a global leader in satellite communications.
A majority of the planet still lacks reliable cellular coverage. Skylo’s network addresses this challenge by working natively with existing chipsets, allowing devices to switch seamlessly from cellular to satellite when coverage is lost. And Skylo connects regular cellular devices to satellites instead of cell towers using existing satellite networks to provide coverage in remote areas where cell towers don’t exist. Consumers connect their device as they would to a cellular network, but the signal is relayed through satellites to ensure connectivity anywhere.
Skylo’s non-terrestrial network has already facilitated millions of messages worldwide and now offers critical connectivity across five continents for IoT and consumer devices. And over the last six months, in just the US, Skylo-enabled smartphones played a major role during natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires, enabling dozens of users to request help when terrestrial networks were unavailable.
KEY QUOTES:
“Skylo’s mission is to drive extreme accessibility of connectivity for cellular devices worldwide. Skylo is synonymous with anywhere connectivity for all, and this new funding allows us to enhance our market reach even farther and faster.”
- Parthsarathi Trivedi, CEO and co-founder of Skylo
“Skylo stands apart as the category leader in the rapidly emerging direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity space. It is already operating one of the world’s first commercial solutions at a significant scale, with millions of consumers connected to the Skylo network. What has unlocked Skylo’s incredible growth is the depth of its ‘standards-plus’ technology stack that democratizes access to ubiquitous mobile connectivity. We are excited to partner with Parth and his team as their global commercialization continues to inflect.”
- Debjit Mukerji, Partner at NGP Capital
