OneWeb raises $1.2bn for satellite constellation
December 19, 2016
By Chris Forrester
Channel Islands-based OneWeb has raised $1.2 billion (€1.14bn) from Japan’s Softbank in a new funding round.
OneWeb is planning to build a super-constellation of 640 broadband and data satellites to supply Internet-by-satellite connectivity to the planet. It already has manufacturing agreements in place with Airbus Group, and the plan is to start launching these satellites by the end of the decade. OneWeb is headed by American tech entrepreneur Greg Wyler.
The Softband investment means that the Japanese now have a 40 per cent stake in the enterprise and valuing the business at some $2.4 billion.
Other investors include the UK’s Richard Branson, telco giant Qualcomm and satellite giant Intelsat.
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