Skylo, the company powering commercially available, seamless ‘direct-to-device’ satellite connectivity, has announced a $30 million oversubscribed funding round led by NGP Capital. Westly Group joined the round and existing investors Intel Capital, BMW i Ventures, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Next47 and others also participated. The company expanded its commercial coverage area with the addition of Brazil, Australia and New Zealand plus additional regions, after having just introduced its service on Tier-1 smartphones and partner carriers.
Skylo is the world’s largest standards-based direct-to-device network, enabling smartphones, vehicles and Internet of Things (IoT) devices to connect via satellite when cellular networks are unavailable. Unlike other satellite service providers, Skylo has pioneered an integrated experience from the ‘ground up’ with a broad, standards-based ecosystem of partners from chipset makers to module and device manufacturers, certification testing labs, and SIM providers. Skylo provides its service to mobile network operators and MVNOs worldwide as a complement to their terrestrial networks.
The expansion of Skylo’s service also includes commercial service covering the entirety of the United States (U.S.), including Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories, as well as additional continents with coverage in Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. This geographic expansion is delivered in partnership with Viasat, Inc., a global contributor in satellite communications.
Despite advances in mobile networks, 85% of the planet still lacks reliable cellular coverage. Skylo’s network solves this challenge by working natively with existing chipsets, allowing devices to switch from cellular to satellite when coverage is lost. Skylo connects regular cellular devices to satellites instead of cell towers using existing satellite networks to provide coverage in remote areas where cell towers do not exist. Consumers connect their device as they would to a normal cellular network, but the signal is relayed through satellites instead to ensure connectivity anywhere.
“Skylo’s mission is to drive extreme accessibility of connectivity for cellular devices worldwide,” said Parthsarathi Trivedi, the CEO and co-founder of Skylo. “Skylo is synonymous with anywhere connectivity for all, and this new funding allows us to enhance our market reach even farther and faster.”
Skylo’s breakthrough non-terrestrial network has already facilitated millions of messages worldwide and now provides critical connectivity across five continents for IoT and consumer devices. Over the last six months, in just the United States, Skylo-enabled smartphones played a role during natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires, allowing dozens of users to request help when terrestrial networks were unavailable. Skylo will demonstrate SOS over satellite, SMS over satellite, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) chat over satellite at MWC Barcelona 2025 in the GSMA Pavilion in Hall 4 Stand 4F30 from March 3 – 6, 2025.
“Skylo stands apart as the category leader in the rapidly emerging direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity space,” said Debjit Mukerji, a partner at NGP Capital. “It is already operating one of the world’s first commercial solutions at a significant scale, with millions of consumers connected to the Skylo network. What has unlocked Skylo’s incredible growth is the depth of its ‘standards-plus’ technology stack that democratises access to ubiquitous mobile connectivity. We are excited to partner with Parth and his team as their global commercialisation continues to inflect.”
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