Astranis

Astranis Space Technologies Corp. is an American company specializing in geostationary communications satellites. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. In 2018, Astranis launched DemoSat-2, a prototype 3U CubeSat. The launch aimed to test software-defined radio (SDR) technology for future larger communications satellites. The company publicly disclosed its projects in March 2018, following a funding round that was aimed at the development of geostationary communications satellites. In January 2019, Astranis initiated a commercial program with Pacific Dataport, Inc. to increase the satellite internet capacity in Alaska. A 350 kg satellite was launched on April 30, 2023, as part of a multi-satellite payload. Astranis was part of the Winter 2016 cohort of the Y Combinator accelerator program and has raised over $350 million in venture funding from firms such as BlackRock, Venrock, and Andreessen Horowitz.