TSUKUBA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WARPSPACE Co., Ltd. (Hereinafter "WARPSPACE," Director CEO: Satoru Tsunemachi), a spin-out space startup from the University of Tsukuba, announced that it has closed Series A round with Japanese leading venture capitals, such as SBI Investment Co., Ltd. and Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd. It is the final close of the Series A round and the total amount of funding has exceeded 9M USD since it was founded in 2016.
We will accelerate the development of the data relay satellite, “WARP-02” which consists of the world’s first inter-satellite optical communication service in the commercial sector, named “WarpHub InterSat”. On top of that, by raising from Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd., all three Japanese megabanks are now listed on our investors. ※Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.
Comment from CEO
It is 5 years since the founding of WARPSPACE, we marked the world’s first startup, among the inter-satellite optical communication providers, who have been able to close Series A thanks to lots of support. The prosperity of human beings has been along with the development of communication all the time. In the “Universal Century” when the border of human activities expands into outer space in earnest, our inter-satellite optical communication network certainly contributes to realizing a sustainable society.
Comments from Underwriters
Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd.
Investment Manager: Mr. Kato
Removing the communicational bottleneck in outer space is inevitable in order to more utilize the earth observation data captured by satellites. We believe that making use of earth observation data will be accelerated by the communication infrastructure provided by WARPSPACE, and it will be able to contribute to various industries seamlessly. Mizuho Capital shall support the global activity of WARPSPACE as a member of Mizuho Financial Group.
SBI Investment Co., Ltd.
General Manager: Mr. Yusuke Matsumoto
Manager: Mr. Jun Hasegawa
In recent years, low-orbit satellites observing the earth are rapidly increasing, so data obtained from satellite is also increasing and can be expected to solve social issues in various industries. We believe that WARPSPACE can solve communication bottlenecks in the space industry through constructing inter-satellite optical communication network, which will contribute to the development of the space industry and human society in the future. For the above reason, we decided to invest in WARPSPACE. We would like to support and hope that WARPSPACE will provide a new communication infrastructure for the new age of space.
About “WARP STATION Conference”
We have a free online conference on the 8th Oct. 21:00-24:30 EDT. The purpose of this conference is to connect the space industry (specifically EO) with different fields, such as Human Rights and Cyber Security to further publish the value of space (EO data). As a guest speaker, we are having experts from Secure World Foundation (US) and a cyber security specialist from Japan. Please register via following link.
https://eventregist.com/e/warpstation_day2
About “WarpHub Intersat”
WarpHub InterSat is the world's first inter-satellite optical communication relay network service using small optical relay satellites. We are aiming to launch the service in 2023. The number of satellites is increasing exponentially in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is between 500 to 800 km from the surface of the earth. WarpHub Intersat enables the satellites to constantly communicate with the ground stations with high-speed optical communication, which also enables the satellite operators to access more satellite data in near real-time, which contributes to realizing a more sustainable global economy of the earth.
[WARPSPACE Co., Ltd.]
Established in 2016. WARPSPACE has launched three communication satellites including the one made in the predecessor university project. In addition to our expertise in satellite engineering, we are developing our space business by taking advantage of our partnerships with research institutes such as JAXA and the abundant experimental and test facilities owned by Tsukuba Science City.
Website: https://warpspace.jp/
