SpaceX to acquire satellite connectivity startup Swarm Technologies, According to TechCrunch SpaceX are going to be acquiring satellite connectivity startup Swarm Technologies, the primary such deal for the 19-year-old space company headed by Elon Musk.
Swarm operates a constellation of 120 sandwich-sized satellites also as a ground station network. The deal would transfer control of Swarm’s ground and space licenses to SpaceX, additionally to any licenses pending before the commission. If the transaction is approved, the startup would become a “direct wholly-owned subsidiary” of the larger company.
The acquisition, which was reported in under-the-radar filings with the Federal Communications Commission, marks a pointy departure from the launch giant’s established strategy of internally developing its tech.
The deal was reportedly reached between the 2 companies on July 16. The FCC filings don’t disclose any financial details or terms of the transaction. Neither SpaceX nor Swarm might be reached for comment.
“Swarm’s services will enjoy the higher capitalization and access to resources available to SpaceX, also because the synergies related to acquisition by a provider of satellite design, manufacture, and launch services,” the businesses said within the filing. For SpaceX’s part, the corporate will “similarly enjoy access to the property and expertise developed by the Swarm team, also as from adding this resourceful and effective team to SpaceX.”
What this suggests for SpaceX’s operations, particularly its Starlink satellite network, is unclear, as these satellites operate during a different waveband from that of Swarm. within the short term, Swarm CEO Sara Spangelo told TechCrunch last month that the corporate is “still marching” toward its goal of operating a 150-satellite constellation.
Compared to SpaceX, Swarm may be a relatively new company. It raised a $25 million Series A almost exactly three years ago, in August 2018, but it only went commercially accept its flagship product earlier this year. That product, the Tile, may be a small modem which will be embedded in various connectivity devices and linked to the satellite network to permit users a low-cost thanks to power Internet of Things devices.