Rivada Networks funding explained
July 4, 2024
Rivada Space Networks has secured a major slice of the cash needed to build and launch its mega-constellation of an initial 300 satellites.
German newspaper Handelsblatt reports that Rivada has collected €10 billion in pre-order commitments from 113 “potential customers”. The report adds that it has also attracted investment cash from 70 investors including a Mid-East sovereign wealth fund.
The report adds that two of these investors include billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal with Elon Musk), and former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove (in the George W. Bush administration). Thiel’s net worth is reported to be $7.5 billion.
Rivada has an order in place for an initial 300 satellites with Boca Raton-based Terran Orbital and an option for a further 300.
Rivada Networks is domiciled in Germany with offices in Munich and Berlin. Rivada Space Networks was founded in 2022 by Declan Ganley, Chairman & CEO of Rivada Networks. While Rivada Networks focusses on terrestrial connectivity, Rivada Space Networks adds the satellite part to the business model.
Rivada Space Networks is planning its ‘OuterNET’, an orbital fleet of highly secure laser-linked satellites. Rivada says its system is “capable of transmitting your data from pole to pole, hemisphere to hemisphere, in milliseconds.”
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