Cailabs raises $67 million to scale up production of optical ground stations

WASHINGTON — Cailabs, a French company that manufactures optical ground stations for satellite communications, has raised 57 million euros ($67 million) to scale up production.

Cailabs, based in Rennes, France, announced Sept. 12 it raised 37 million euros from the European Investment Bank and 20 million euros from several other investors, including French government-backed Definvest and Fonds Innovation Defense, NewSpace Capital, the European Innovation Council, Starquest Capital and Crédit Agricole Ille-et-Vilaine Expansion.

The company said the funding will be used to expand production of optical ground stations that enable laser communications with satellites.

“This funding round reflects our solid fundamentals and the confidence investors have in our strategic vision. It enables us to scale up industrial capabilities and prepare for the next stage of growth,” said Jean-François Morizur, co-founder and chief executive of Cailabs, in a statement.

The company currently has more than 10 optical ground stations under contract and plans to use the funding to scale up production and strengthen its supply chain to manufacture up to 50 stations a year by 2027.

The biggest demand for the company’s optical ground stations is coming from defense and other government users, Morizur told SpaceNews, citing their interest in the high data rates enabled by optical communications as well as the low probability such communications will be detected or intercepted.

The funding will also support international expansion. The company recently opened a larger U.S. office in Arlington, Virginia, and Morizur said it has distribution deals in Japan and South Korea as well as partnerships in Europe and the Middle East.

Cailabs will use the funding for development of new products, such as stations that can support data rates of more than 100 gigabits per second and transportable ground stations.

The company also plans to support satellite laser communications in higher orbits. Morizur said its best-selling ground station, the Tilba-L10, can communicate with satellites in low Earth orbit, but it is now under contract to develop versions that can handle laser communications with satellites in medium and geostationary Earth orbits.

He added that Cailabs doesn’t plan to expand into the development of optical communications terminals on the satellites themselves. “We focus on the ground segment rather than the satellites themselves, enabling reliable, high-speed links between satellites and Earth.”

That focus was sufficient for investors, who cited growing European interest in funding space systems that have defense applications. “Space technologies are increasingly important for civilian use as well as for security and defense applications,” said Ambroise Fayolle, EIB vice president, in a statement. “The project is fully aligned with the EIB strategic priorities of security and defense, and technological innovation under its TechEU program.”