Space-tech startup Satlyt has raised $8 million in seed funding as it develops software designed to allow satellites to process data and run artificial intelligence applications in orbit, reducing the amount of information that needs to be transmitted back to Earth.
The startup, which has joint headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and Sunnyvale, California, said the new funding will support the development of what it describes as virtual AI data centres in space.
The funding round was led by non sibi ventures, with participation from TLCOM, Antler, Launch Africa Ventures, Enza Capital, Axian Investment, Askya Investment Partners, Slauson & Co. and Gaingels.
Founded in 2024 by Rama Afullo, a former product manager at Google and SpaceX, Satlyt does not manufacture satellites or spacecraft. Instead, it develops software that allows operators to use computing hardware already installed on spacecraft to process data while the satellites remain in orbit.
The startup’s latest software iteration is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX rocket through Indian space-tech company TakeMe2Space.
According to Satlyt, processing data in orbit could help satellite operators reduce the volume of raw information that has to be transmitted to ground stations, allowing them to obtain useful insights more quickly while potentially cutting data transmission costs.
“Running applications on existing spacecraft gives operators a way to do more with the computing hardware they already have in orbit,” Afullo, who is Satlyt’s founder and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
“Our job is to make those applications practical to deploy and operate. This financing lets us expand the engineering and delivery teams needed to support more spacecraft and customers while building toward computing resources that can work together across missions.”
Satlyt said the latest investment will accelerate the development of its space-based computing infrastructure while expanding its engineering and customer-facing teams.
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The company has already tested its approach by deploying Google DeepMind’s Gemma artificial intelligence model aboard a Momentus spacecraft in September 2026.
During the test, Satlyt’s software processed spacecraft telemetry and other data in orbit rather than sending all the raw information to Earth.
The company said the system reduced the size of a critical transmission related to system errors by more than 60 per cent and cut telemetry data by as much as 97 per cent.
Satlyt said the results demonstrate how processing information at the “space edge” could reduce the cost and time associated with transmitting large volumes of satellite data to Earth.
The company’s current focus is on computing within individual satellites, but its longer-term ambition is to develop a common software layer that can allow computing resources across spacecraft operated by different organisations to work together.
The new funding will therefore be used not only to expand Satlyt’s technology but also to increase the number of spacecraft and customers supported by the company as it develops its broader in-orbit computing network.
About the Author
Cecilia Attah is a tech analyst with a degree from Benue State University. She covers tech news and startups at TechRegard with a focus on how technology is transforming Africa and shaping the global landscape.
