UNIVITY raised €27 million in Series A funding from Blast, Expansion, the Bpifrance deep tech 2030 fund, and two family offices for the demonstration program, which involves building, launching, and operating two satellites by February 2028.
The Paris-based space tech startup was founded in 2022 by Charles Delfieux to place satellites in low Earth orbit below 375 km, closer to Earth than Starlink’s. This means lower latency and better performance for smartphones and connected vehicles. It also enables smaller, more affordable ground terminals.
“The closer the satellite is to the ground, the quicker the signal can move back and forth. Having satellites closer to the ground means we can have smaller antennas, which makes them easier to fit into different places and cheaper, and that’s one of the things that will make it truly accessible to as many people as possible,” explains Shola Efunshile, UNIVITY’s COO, to Tech Funding News.
Starlink is the market leader, with more than 6,000 satellites, and it sells directly to consumers. Amazon Kuiper is growing quickly. OneWeb and China’s new mega-constellations use different orbits and business models. Europe’s IRIS² program is also being developed.
“The SATCOM market is huge and very diverse. People need different things. In a way, yes, there’s competition because we’re all playing in a similar field, but ultimately the market is there, and we’re all addressing slightly different parts of it,” notes Efunshile.
“By positioning space as the natural extension of terrestrial networks, the company is already establishing itself as a pivotal player in the sector, adds Anthony Bourbon, founder of Blast.
This year, UNIVITY is working to build commercial traction and get its supply chain ready. “We want to start seeing those relationships develop into something more concrete, like joint demonstrations and starting to sell capacity for the future constellation,” Barnett says.
In 2027, the two demonstration satellites will launch with inter-satellite links and supporting ground infrastructure. Plans for the satellite factory will be finalised this year. “This is what we’ve always planned. A stepped approach that reduces risk at each stage and lets us use financing for the next step,” Barnett concludes.
The funding will also help grow the team and get the supply chain ready for the uniSky constellation. With a €31 million CNES contract awarded in September 2025, the program’s total funding is now over €60 million.
