Transcelestial Technologies, a last-mile internet connectivity startup, has raised US$ 9.6M in Series A round of funding. The investment was co-led by EDBI and Wavemaker Partners.
The round also included participation from Airbus Ventures, Cap Vista, Partech Partners, and Tekton Ventures. Existing investors that invested in Series A round include Entrepreneur First, SEEDS Capital, Microsoft’s former Head of Corporate Strategy- Charles Songhurst, and a senior at Standard Chartered Bank- Ajay Shah.
In 2018, Transcelestial raised US$ 1.8M in seed funding.
About Transcelestial Technologies
Founded in December 2016, Transcelestial is a started up based in Singapore. It is in the process of building a space laser network to “deliver a step-change in internet connectivity globally”.
The start-up has developed a mass-produced network device that leverages its proprietary Wireless Laser Communication Technology. It is a wireless distribution network between buildings, traditional cell towers, street-level poles and other physical infrastructure. Its the size of a shoe-box, weighs less than 3kg and is capable of delivering fibre-like speeds to customers. Additionally, it is a rapidly-deployable, low-cost and high-speed solution. It can be used in dense residential areas that require bandwidth upgrades.
“In order to deliver on this global promise, we have set up a manufacturing capability which will scale into the world’s largest for production of CENTAURI class Wireless Fibre Optics devices,” said Dr. Mohammad Danesh, CTO and co-founder of Transcelestial. Centauri is expected to launch globally within next 12 months. As a result, Transcelestial’s ground breaking proprietary technology of real time optical alignment and weather compensation will be available within a commercial price point.
In the post-pandemic world, the importance of last-mile connectivity to our homes, offices and cell towers has become crucial.
Statements by the Investors
Chu Swee Yeok, CEO and President of EDBI, said that as the front runner in laser communications technology, Transcelestial’s Centauri will “help catalyse the adoption of 5G communications, a key enabler for the next wave of growth in the digital economy, including areas such as smart cities, industry 4.0 and urban mobility.”
This marks Airbus Ventures’ first investment in Singapore. Thomas d’Halluin, Managing Partner of Airbus Ventures, said, “We’re pleased to have such a marquee company as Transcelestial to help us widen our presence in the region.”
