Advanced Television

Kinéis raises €100m for IoT

February 3, 2020

By Chris Forrester

A spin-off business from France’s national space agency (CNES) has raised €100 million in funding in order to launch a constellation of 25 ‘nano-satellites’ to serve the growing Internet of Things market.

Kinéis was created last July with the support of CNES and CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites) and it aims to become a major player in French New Space. CNES is the largest investor with 32 per cent of the share capital.

Meeting this funding goal moves the company further toward its aim of providing universal satellite connectivity, enabling Kinéis to add 25 nanosatellites to complement the service provided by the Argos system for more than 40 years. The Kinéis constellation, which will be operational by 2022, aims to connect several million objects, wherever they are on the globe, by 2030. The first components of the Kinéis constellation were launched December 18th 2019 and consist of Argos operational payloads on seven satellites and a prototype nanosatellite, ANGELS.

“With Kinéis, French NewSpace is becoming a reality” emphasised Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of the CNES, which is the founder of the Argos system. “With ANGELS, the first stage in this adventure, CNES is proving that it is possible to develop, manufacture and launch satellites in two and a half years, whereas previously it took between five and ten years. We are very proud that CNES, through Kinéis, is promoting the development and excellence of the French space industry.”

Categories: Articles, Funding, IoT