Source Code Capital portfolio company GalaxySpace announces new funding round, with existing shareholder Source Code Capital continuing to increase its stake

源码资本·November 17, 2020·0·7

GalaxySpace, the first unicorn in China's commercial aerospace and satellite internet sectors, has now entered the final assembly phase for its second self-developed broadband communications satellite.

GalaxySpace, a leading satellite internet company, has completed its latest funding round at a post-money valuation of nearly RMB 8 billion, becoming China's first unicorn in the commercial aerospace and satellite internet sectors. The round was led by Nantong Development Zone Intelligent Manufacturing Industry Investment Fund, with participation from Hundun Investment, Matrix Partners China, and CICC Capital's CICC Infrastructure Fund. Existing shareholders Shunwei Capital, 5Y Capital (formerly Morningside Venture Capital), Legend Capital, and Source Code Capital continued to invest. Source Code Capital has backed GalaxySpace since its Pre-A round and has supported each subsequent round.

GalaxySpace founder and CEO Xu Ming said the company will continue to invest in satellite internet R&D and rapidly build low-cost, mass-production capabilities for next-generation internet satellites, contributing to China's satellite internet infrastructure.

Satellite internet is emerging as a new engine for global economic growth. A Morgan Stanley report notes that building satellite constellations capable of delivering low-cost, high-speed internet is driving growth in the global space economy. By 2040, the global space economy is projected to reach $1 trillion, with satellite internet expected to account for 50% to 70% of that growth.

GalaxySpace's first satellite during R&D

The global satellite internet sector has entered a phase of rapid deployment. U.S. commercial aerospace company SpaceX is accelerating deployment of its Starlink constellation, composed of nearly 42,000 low-earth orbit satellites. China's satellite internet construction is also picking up speed. On January 16, 2020, GalaxySpace successfully launched its first satellite — not only China's first low-earth orbit broadband communications satellite with 24Gbps capacity, but also the only broadband internet satellite currently in orbit developed by a private Chinese company. GalaxySpace's self-developed second broadband communications satellite has now entered final assembly.

GalaxySpace First Satellite — Launch Success Video

Xu Ming said GalaxySpace will next build a next-generation satellite smart manufacturing megafactory in Nantong, targeting annual production of 300–500 satellites. Once completed, this will be China's first commercial aerospace production line benchmarked against Starlink — a smart manufacturing line capable of low-cost, mass production of next-generation low-earth orbit broadband communications satellites — potentially narrowing the gap between China's and the United States' next-generation satellite mass-production capabilities to within two years.

GalaxySpace gateway station

On April 20 this year, the National Development and Reform Commission included satellite internet in its "new infrastructure" initiative. A Nantong Development Zone official said satellite internet and related industries are facing a major historical opportunity, and that GalaxySpace is a leading enterprise in this sector. Nantong is highly optimistic about both the satellite internet industry and GalaxySpace's prospects. The development zone will use GalaxySpace as an industrial anchor to attract and support high-quality upstream and downstream projects, building a satellite internet and commercial aerospace industry cluster and accelerating China's satellite internet construction and commercial aerospace development.