Satlyt, a new company founded by former Google and SpaceX engineer Rama Afullo, has raised an $8 million seed round to develop software that enables artificial intelligence to run directly on satellites. The startup aims to create a horizontal, open ecosystem for orbital computing, distinct from vertical hardware builders like SpaceX.
What Happened
Afullo, who previously worked in Google’s cloud computing division and at SpaceX’s Starlink unit, co-founded Satlyt with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, and Nairobi. The company’s software is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX rocket alongside the first prototype for Google’s Project Suncatcher, a space data center effort. Unlike competitors such as Starcloud or Cowboy Space Company, Satlyt does not build its own spacecraft. Instead, it focuses on software that allows multiple satellites to share computing workloads, comparing its approach to platforms like VMware and Snowflake. Afullo described the strategy in an interview with TechCrunch, stating, “The folks like SpaceX who are doing orbital data centers — if they are the iPhone, we’ll build Android as a horizontally integrated, open ecosystem.”
The company has already completed two demonstration missions. Earlier this year, Satlyt deployed Google DeepMind’s Gemma AI model on a spacecraft operated by Momentus. According to Afullo, the model reduced the size of transmissions regarding onboard software errors by more than 60%, an efficiency gain he claims can save hundreds of thousands of dollars per satellite annually by reducing the need for expensive and slow downlinks to Earth. The upcoming launch will feature Satlyt’s software on a spacecraft built by Indian startup TakeMe2Space, serving three customers: NASA, which is testing cloud computing protocols; Stellerian, which is testing image processing for space surveillance; and TakeMe2Space itself.
Why It Matters
The funding round was led by Non Sibi Ventures, a Houston-based firm where partner Bernard Harris, a former NASA astronaut, helped validate the business model. Investors noted that Satlyt’s value proposition does not rely on the uncertain economics of full-scale orbital data centers but rather on the increasing number of satellites being launched. “We don’t need data centers in space for Rama to be wildly successful, right? It can just be driven by the number of satellites going up,” Non Sibi partner Kent Lucas told TechCrunch. By enabling AI processing at the edge—in orbit—Satlyt aims to reduce operational costs for spacecraft builders and allow satellites to function as revenue-generating managed services.
Afullo projects that virtually every spacecraft builder will integrate GPUs or similar advanced processors by the end of the decade. He stated, “If you’re putting up a satellite without putting up a GPU on it, at the very least, you’re doing yourself a disservice, right?” The company’s next technical milestone is to demonstrate a shared computing cloud spanning two different satellites, a test Afullo expects to attempt next year. If successful, this would position Satlyt as a third-party provider of compute infrastructure for the growing space economy.
The Bottom Line
Satlyt’s $8 million raise highlights growing investor interest in the software layer of the space industry, moving beyond hardware launches to optimize how data is processed in orbit. By positioning itself as an open, cross-platform solution, the startup seeks to capture value from the increasing prevalence of AI-capable satellites without bearing the capital-intensive burden of building spacecraft.