QuadSAT, a Danish company that is revolutionising thetest and measurement of satellite antennas, announced today that it has closed a €2 million Pre-Series A Investment, one of the largest venture investments in a Danish drone tech company. The round was led by Seraphim Capital, the world’s first venture fund dedicated to SpaceTech, Vaekstfonden, the Danish state’s investment fund, and Angel Investor, Helge Munk.
The spacetech sector is gaining evermore traction, as more industries start to look towards space to solve significant challenges, from worldwide connectivity, to data provision to solve environmental issues. However, a rapid increase in the number of satellites in orbit over the next few years will bring challenges of its own.
Considering the number of communication satellites in use today, the levels of radiofrequency (RF) interference are increasing year on year. If not managed properly the accelerating growth of the satcom industry will drown the radio spectrum in RF-interference, reducing bandwidth and causing connection breakouts. Poorly performing and inaccurate ground antennas are the main source of RF-interference. For antenna research and development, and for approval to bring new antennas to market, access to testing is essential.
For the antenna ground segment to keep up with the rapid development of satellites in orbit, there is a great need for a cost-effective, flexible, and efficient testing solution. QuadSAT (founded in 2017) revolutionises antenna testing by combining state of the art drone- and RF-technology with custom-developed software making automated antenna test and measurement available anytime and anywhere.
Andrian Buchi, CTO and co-founder, says: “We see a high level of interest for our technology, not only in antenna measurements but also in other test solutions aimed specifically at higher frequencies and at the future mass deployment of mega-constellations. This investment allows us to develop the product line to match the industry needs, and to build a strong team able to tackle future challenges”.
Joakim Espeland, CEO and co-founder adds: “Our solution is the only one that can provide the scalability of test and measurements required for a robust satcom infrastructure to minimize challenges such as dropped calls and internet buffering”.
To ensure the best fit between QuadSAT’s solution and the industry requirements, the team is working closely with SOMAP, a consortium of the world’s biggest Satellite Operators. Further, QuadSAT has recently completed contracts with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) programme for supporting the development of advanced satcom products and services.
The startup’s recent investment round follows a seed round at the start of 2019. The team believes that this pre-series A investment is a catalyst for exploiting the potential of QuadSAT’s unique position as the only company that can provide mobile testing at scale. This will accelerate product testing and allow QuadSAT to transition its current product, which is currently offered as a service, to be sold as a product for third party users, and also allow QuadSAT to expand its UK research and development activities.
