Airbus Ventures makes investment in Japanese space communications start-up Infostellar

• Space communications infrastructure innovator Is Airbus Ventures’ first move in Asia

Tokyo, 13 September 2017 – Airbus Ventures announced today its lead investment in the $7.3 million Series A round for Infostellar, a Japanese developer of a cloud-based satellite antenna sharing platform. This financing funds the launch of Infostellar’s flagship platform StellarStation, expands its network of partner antennas, and accelerates the hiring of additional talented team members.

With this closing of this Series A investment round, Dr Lewis Pinault, Managing Investment Partner for Airbus Ventures in Japan also joins the Infostellar board.

“With the burgeoning number of Low Earth Orbit launches and the fast-evolving criticality of data from space, supporting ground station networks are becoming hard pressed to keep up with satellite data demands,” said Dr Pinault.

“This is despite the fact that much of the time, ground station antennas stand idle while other people's satellites pass overhead. Infostellar dramatically shifts the model by bringing hundreds of antennas around the globe to the service of thousands of satellites. With their StellarStation solution, everyone in the equation can win: antenna operators idle less and earn more, and satellite operators gain real-time network-side control - and virtually anyone can become a satellite operator.”

Thomas d’Halluin, CEO of Airbus Ventures, said that the aim of the independent investment group is to facilitate such dramatic shifts in the future of the aerospace industry.

“We are particularly pleased to lead this important round of investment, our first in Japan,” he said. “With the likes of Sony Innovation Fund, the Entrepreneurial Research Unit at Waseda University, and 500 Startups Japan, as well as key domestic co-investors, we feel that Infostellar is well positioned to tap the best of Japanese innovation, attract even more outstanding international talent, and bring its success to the world stage in future rounds - and indeed onwards to new novel successes in deep space communications.”

Stephane Ginoux, President of Airbus Japan, added: “We are proud to see Airbus Ventures making this important first foray into Asia here in Japan. We are committed to encouraging the innovation of Japanese start-ups and entrepreneurs, and we are especially pleased to see the support for the excellent Infostellar team in their pioneering journey to becoming an important global player in space communications infrastructure.”

Dr Naomi Kurahara, the founder and CEO of Infostellar, said: “Airbus Ventures’ lead investment in this round is a major advance for our company. This timely and well-organised Series A funding round helps us secure our StellarStation platform as a global business. With Dr Pinault on our board and the Airbus aerospace heritage alongside us, we see a highly collaborative path to successfully fulfilling our long-term mission: providing smart, efficient communications infrastructure for humanity’s ongoing expansion into space.”

About Infostellar

Infostellar is a space communications infrastructure firm, developing the world’s only cloud-based satellite antenna sharing platform: StellarStation. By lowering costs and increasing transmission time, Infostellar empowers satellite operators to improve the quality of their service and expand potential business. Founded in 2016, Infostellar is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. For more information, visit https://www.infostellar.net/. Logos and images can be found at https://www.infostellar.net/news/1/kit.zip.

About Airbus Ventures

Airbus Ventures is a fast-moving, intensely curious early-stage investment group that seeks exceptional, inspired founders from around the world who will set the course for ground-breaking innovation in mobility, security, and the future of flight. Its vision is to continuously ignite interest in the wonder that is aerospace. Airbus is in its DNA, from a legacy of innovation and industry expertise to a global network. Yet Airbus Ventures operates with autonomy and trust, from the investments it makes to the technologies they develop; it independently supports entrepreneurs with unique ideas, plans, and structures. Airbus Ventures is headquartered in Silicon Valley and Paris and funds start-ups across the globe. For more information, visit http://www.airbusventures.vc/.

About Airbus

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2016, it generated revenues of € 67 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, and is one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.