Commsat, a China-based commercial satellite operator backed by Chinese Academy of Sciences, has secured RMB270m ($38m) of series B funding from investors co-led by aerospace manufacturer Aviation Industry Corporation of China, China Money Network reported yesterday.
Asset management firm Beijing Wealth Capital co-led the round. Aviation Industry Corporation of China participated through an unnamed subsidiary of its venture capital arm Avic Capital.
Founded in 2015, Commsat hopes to build a network of low-orbit satellites to provide high-speed communications for applications like industrial connected devices that are often in remote locations poorly served by existing broadband.
The company started developing its first satellite – Ladybug No.1 – in 2017 and launched an eight-satellite cluster the following year. It has since commenced research into related areas such as ground terminals and industrial-oriented data applications.
The series C proceeds will go to launching Commsat’s satellites and implementing production lines for manufacturing in the Chinese cities of Tangshan and Yibin. Commsat also plans to invest in R&D in a bid to capture anticipated Chinese satellite broadband growth over the next three years.
Skychee Ventures led a $14.4m series A-plus round for Commsat in November 2018 with participation from conglomerate China Cosco Shipping and power utility China Three Gorges.
The funding followed a $14.4m series A round in February 2018 co-led by Skychee and Junzi Capital that featured CAS Star – a venture capital arm of Chinese Academy of Sciences – and Qixi Capital. CAS Star had also supplied an eight-figure renminbi (RMB10m = $1.4m) angel sum in 2016.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

Commsat, a China-based commercial satellite operator, has secured RMB270m ($38m) of series B funding from investors co-led by aerospace manufacturer Aviation Industry Corporation of China, China Money Network reported yesterday.

Asset management firm Beijing Wealth Capital co-led the round. Aviation Industry Corporation of China participated through an unnamed subsidiary of its venture capital arm Avic Capital.

Founded in 2015, Commsat hopes to build a network of low-orbit satellites to provide high-speed communications for applications like industrial connected devices that are often in remote locations poorly served by existing broadband.

The company started developing its first satellite – Ladybug No.1 – in 2017 and launched an eight-satellite cluster the following year. It has since commenced research into related areas such as ground terminals and industrial-oriented data applications.

The series C proceeds will go to launching Commsat’s satellites and implementing production lines for manufacturing in the Chinese cities of Tangshan and Yibin. Commsat also plans to invest in R&D in a bid to capture anticipated Chinese satellite broadband growth over the next three years.

Skychee Ventures led a $14.4m series A-plus round for Commsat in November 2018 with participation from conglomerate China Cosco Shipping and power utility China Three Gorges.

The funding followed a $14.4m series A round in February 2018 co-led by Skychee and Junzi Capital that featured CAS Star – a venture capital arm of Chinese Academy of Sciences – and Qixi Capital. CAS Star had also supplied an eight-figure renminbi (RMB10m = $1.4m) angel sum in 2016.