Skylo Raises $30M in Oversubscribed Funding Round to Scale Direct-to-Device Satellite Service Worldwide

Rhea-AI Summary

Skylo has secured a $30 million oversubscribed funding round led by NGP Capital, with participation from Westly Group and existing investors. The company, which provides direct-to-device satellite connectivity, has expanded its commercial coverage to Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand, in addition to the entire U.S. including Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories.

In partnership with Viasat (NASDAQ: VSAT), Skylo offers the world's largest standards-based direct-to-device network, enabling smartphones, vehicles, and IoT devices to connect via satellite when cellular networks are unavailable. The service has already facilitated millions of messages worldwide across five continents, proving particularly important during natural disasters when terrestrial networks were down.

Positive

• Secured $30M in oversubscribed funding round
• Expanded commercial coverage to new major markets
• Partnership with Viasat (VSAT) for global coverage
• Proven track record with millions of messages transmitted
• Successfully deployed during critical emergency situations

Negative

• None.

Insights

Satellite Communications Expert

Skylo's $30 million oversubscribed funding round signals significant investor confidence in the direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity market, with important implications for partner Viasat (NASDAQ: VSAT). This partnership allows Viasat to enter the rapidly growing D2D market without building dedicated infrastructure, potentially creating a new revenue stream at a time when the company faces financial pressure with its $1.12 billion market cap.

For Viasat, this collaboration represents a strategic pivot toward consumer-oriented services, complementing its traditional enterprise and government focus. Following its $7.3 billion Inmarsat acquisition, Viasat has been seeking ways to leverage its expanded satellite fleet and spectrum rights. The Skylo partnership enables this without requiring significant additional capital expenditure - a important advantage given Viasat's debt obligations.

Skylo's technology differentiates itself from competitors by utilizing existing satellite infrastructure rather than building new specialized constellations, significantly reducing time-to-market and capital requirements. This approach has allowed Skylo to achieve commercial deployment across five continents while competitors like AST SpaceMobile and Lynk Global are still in testing phases.

The real-world effectiveness of Skylo's technology during recent natural disasters demonstrates practical value beyond theoretical capabilities. This proven reliability could accelerate adoption by mobile network operators seeking to offer expanded coverage without building costly rural infrastructure.

For Viasat investors, this partnership represents a potential bright spot amid challenging financials, offering a pathway to monetize existing satellite capacity through high-margin services without significant additional investment.

First standards-based commercial D2D service to activate millions of devices across 5 continents, now launching in Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Skylo, the company powering commercially available, seamless ‘direct-to-device’ satellite connectivity, today announced a $30 million oversubscribed funding round led by NGP Capital. Westly Group joined the round and existing investors Intel Capital, BMW i Ventures, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Next47, and others also participated. The company expanded its commercial coverage area with the addition of Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand plus additional regions, after having just introduced its service on major Tier-1 smartphones and partner carriers.

Skylo is the world’s largest standards-based direct-to-device network, enabling smartphones, vehicles, and IoT devices to connect via satellite when cellular networks are unavailable. Unlike other satellite service providers, Skylo has pioneered an integrated experience from the ‘ground up’ with a broad, standards-based ecosystem of partners from chipset makers to module and device manufacturers, certification testing labs, and SIM providers. Skylo provides its service to leading mobile network operators and MVNOs worldwide as a complement to their terrestrial networks.

The expansion of Skylo’s service also includes commercial service covering the entirety of the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories, as well as additional continents with coverage in Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand. This geographic expansion is delivered in partnership with Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global leader in satellite communications.

Despite advances in mobile networks, 85% of the planet still lacks reliable cellular coverage. Skylo’s network solves this challenge by working natively with existing chipsets, allowing devices to seamlessly switch from cellular to satellite when coverage is lost. Skylo connects regular cellular devices to satellites instead of cell towers using existing satellite networks to provide coverage in remote areas where cell towers don’t exist. Consumers connect their device as they would to a normal cellular network, but the signal is relayed through satellites instead to ensure connectivity anywhere.

"Skylo’s mission is to drive extreme accessibility of connectivity for cellular devices worldwide," said Parthsarathi Trivedi, CEO and co-founder of Skylo. “Skylo is synonymous with anywhere connectivity for all, and this new funding allows us to enhance our market reach even farther and faster.”

Skylo’s breakthrough non-terrestrial network has already facilitated millions of messages worldwide and now provides critical connectivity across five continents for IoT and consumer devices. Over the last six months, in just the United States, Skylo-enabled smartphones played a pivotal role during natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires, allowing dozens of users to request help when terrestrial networks were unavailable. Skylo will demonstrate SOS over satellite, SMS over satellite, and AI chat over satellite at MWC Barcelona 2025 in the GSMA Pavilion in Hall 4 Stand 4F30 from March 3 - 6, 2025.

“Skylo stands apart as the category leader in the rapidly emerging direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity space,” said Debjit Mukerji, Partner at NGP Capital. “It is already operating one of the world’s first commercial solutions at a significant scale, with millions of consumers connected to the Skylo network. What has unlocked Skylo’s incredible growth is the depth of its ‘standards-plus’ technology stack that democratizes access to ubiquitous mobile connectivity. We are excited to partner with Parth and his team as their global commercialization continues to inflect.”

About Skylo

Skylo Technologies is a global Non-Terrestrial Network service provider based in Mountain View, CA, offering a service that allows smartphones and IoT cellular devices to connect directly over existing satellites. Devices connected over satellite are managed and served by Skylo's commercial NTN vRAN, featuring a 3GPP standards-based cloud-native base station and core. Skylo works with existing satellite operators, network operators, and device makers to provide subscribers an anywhere, anytime connectivity solution between terrestrial and satellite networks. Skylo's focus is on enabling connected services for people outdoors and connected workflows for machines at work across critical industries such as agriculture, maritime, logistics, mining, and others, in addition to mass-market consumer devices. For more information, visit www.skylo.tech.

About NGP Capital

NGP Capital backs early-stage B2B companies from Series A onwards in the U.S. and Europe, within enterprise software, industrial tech, cybersecurity, and edge and data infrastructure. Through its $400m fifth fund launched in 2022, NGP Capital invests in companies driving the convergence of the physical and digital worlds.

Founded in 2005, NGP Capital has over $1.6B in AUM and has invested in over 100 companies of which 18 became unicorns and 11 went on to IPO. Some of the companies NGP has backed include Tractian, Xona Space Systems, The Exploration Company, Lime, and many others.

About The Westly Group

The Westly Group is a venture fund in Menlo Park that has been investing for 18 years in companies that are transforming foundational industries with a focus on energy, mobility, industrial technology, innovative infrastructure and security. The firm has had nine IPOs including Tesla Motors, Luminar, Procore, SentinelOne, and Planet.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250227282650/en/

Media Contact

Stephanie Chan

stephanie@heycommand.com

Source: Skylo Technologies

FAQ

How much funding did Skylo raise in its latest round and who led it?

Skylo raised $30 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by NGP Capital, with participation from Westly Group and existing investors including Intel Capital, BMW i Ventures, and Samsung Catalyst Fund.

What regions are covered by Skylo's satellite service partnership with VSAT?

Skylo's service covers the entire U.S. (including Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories), Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand through its partnership with Viasat (VSAT).

How does Skylo's direct-to-device satellite connectivity work?

Skylo connects regular cellular devices to satellites instead of cell towers using existing satellite networks, allowing devices to seamlessly switch from cellular to satellite when coverage is lost.

What real-world applications has Skylo's satellite network demonstrated?

Over the last six months in the U.S., Skylo-enabled smartphones helped dozens of users request assistance during natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires when terrestrial networks were unavailable.