Chinese Private Satellite Developer GalaxySpace Completes Another Round of Fundraising

GalaxySpace, a private Chinese satellite constellation provider, has finished another round of financing led by JIC Technology Investment on September 16.

With no information yet on the total funds raised, the company is valued at over 5 billion yuan ($710 million), making it one of the most valuable startups in China’s private aerospace.

The company will focus on developing a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communications constellation and implementing it to application scenarios after this financing round.

SEE ALSO: China Private Space Startup LinkSpace Launches a Reusable Rocket

Founded in 2016, the company is committed to mass producing low-cost, high-performance small satellites through agile and fast-iterative development models, and build both the world’s leading LEO broadband satellite constellation and a global coverage with 5G communication network, according to its homepage.

Just like other private Chinese rocket companies are using American giant SpaceX as a benchmark, GalaxySpace is analogous to the US startup OneWeb.

GalaxySpace successfully launched experimental payload Yuquan-1 (玉泉一号) last October to perform testing of on-board high-performance computing, space imaging, and communication links in a mini space station called Candy Tin by Chinese tech giant Alibaba.

About one month later, the company received funding from Shunwei Capital Partners, Morningside Venture Capital, IDG Capital, Gaorong Capital, and Source Code Capital to finish is Series A+ round funding, according to Global Times.

“Since the first day GalaxySpace was founded, we have prioritized mass production over piece production in the traditional aerospace industry,” said chairman and founder Xu Ming.

Before starting GalaxySpace, Xu was co-founder and former president of Cheetah Mobile, a Chinese mobile Internet company.