10 Hottest Companies in Satellite for 2026

Via Satellite’s annual 10 Hottest Companies rounds up 10 “must watch” companies in the satellite industry, from constellations, manufacturing, launch, and more. Via Satellite editors chose the companies on this list based on their expected activity for the year, and a mix of market share, transformational technology, ground-breaking deals, and overall industry excitement.

Since 2019, the annual list has highlighted more than 70 companies. The companies selected as the 2026 10 Hottest Companies in Satellite are listed here in alphabetical order:

AIRBUS/LEONARDO/THALES SPACE MERGER

Europe is a growing hotspot for space investment as governments realize they need more locally developed tech going forward. Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) late last year to create a leading European player in space and bring their space businesses together. The combined entity will employ around 25,000 people across Europe. This merger gives Europe a player with immense size and scale that can compete in many markets and far more on a global stage than ever before. Carla Filotico, partner and managing director of Novaspace, called it a “bold and necessary move,” and she said the new company can create “scale, coherence and speed.” The move represents a new era when it comes to European space. Europe has many space companies, but none with this level of scale. This new company should help with sovereign strategies across Europe and the new company can play a key role in fostering innovation across the continent.

While this new company will be a large player, maintaining agility will be essential. Can it develop new products and solutions at speed? Can it work with European startups and help power the overall European space ecosystem and strengthen European space supply chains? Can it keep pace with the likes of SpaceX and Amazon on a global stage or will it be slow to react to the fast evolutions in the global space market? There are many questions but there is no doubt the eyes of the satellite world will be on this new company. It could be the catalyst for Europe to realize its overall potential. It can help future-proof the industry, as well as play a key role in the defense of Europe. Whatever the future holds, it will be one of the most talked about space companies in the second half of the 2020s.

ARKEDGE SPACE

Japan has a rich history in space and ArkEdge Space is one of the latest Japanese space startups to have a huge impact. The company, which looks to build and mass-produce micro-satellite constellations is creating quite a buzz and regular features on space startup lists. 2025 was another big year for the company, as ArkEdge Space raised $52 million in a Series B funding round.

In February, ArkEdge Space linked up with SKY Perfect JSAT to accelerate the commercialization of micro-satellite constellations in a major collaboration. ArkEdge will tap into Sky Perfect JSAT’s expertise in satellite operations to create a more efficient and reliable mission control system. It formed other exciting partnerships in 2025. It also teamed up with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), a player in ground segment and satellite operations services, to establish a strategic partnership in the microsatellite sector.

With the demand for small satellites on the rise, ArkEdge is aiming to be a leader in building and producing micro-satellites. However, its biggest news perhaps came at the end of the year when it announced the successful launch and initial checkout of its three satellites AE5Ra, AE5Rb, and AE5Rc. With this mission, the number of in-house developed and operated satellites has reached 12. ArkEdge Space then confirmed communications using test signals via its own ground stations.

The company was founded in 2018, and then changed its name to ArkEdge Space in 2021. It has had a meteoric rise and is working across the world in countries such as Paraguay, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, among others. It also has a strong relationship with JAXA and has been selected for various initiatives with the space agency. It could be the next big thing to come out of Japan’s space sector.

FARCAST

The antenna market is one of the most important in satellite as these pieces of hardware are vital for successful operator strategies. It is full of world-class players, and another one may be about to emerge. Farcast, a San-Francisco-based startup, made quite a splash in 2025 with some of the biggest players in space backing the company and its technology. In November, Telesat was the latest big name to give its backing to this new antenna upstart. Farcast is developing a technology that can simultaneously transmit and receive data from the same aperture in a flat panel antenna (FPA). This proprietary active electronically scanned antenna (AESA) technology uses electronic beam scanning, and the single-aperture, full-duplex FPA results in reduced size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C). Telesat made a $5 million equity investment in Farcast, and their partnership will see Farcast develop an enterprise-class FPA user terminal that is fully integrated with the Telesat Lightspeed modem.

Yet Telesat was not the only big name to cast its eyes towards Farcast. In December, Gogo also made a strategic investment in Farcast to fund the development of aviation user terminals. Earlier in the year, Lockheed Martin also invested $2 million into Farcast. It is a company on the rise, and one that has made some big noise considering it is a new player in the block. It operates in a very competitive part of the market. The backing from the likes of Telesat, Gogo, and Lockheed Martin seems to indicate that Farcast is one to watch.

IONQ

IonQ caught the attention of the space industry in July last year when it finalized a deal to acquire Capella Space, a U.S. space tech company with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) assets. IonQ might be one of the most ambitious companies from a tech perspective in space right now. It is aiming to develop what it claims is the world’s first space-to-space and space-to-ground satellite quantum key distribution (QKD) network, enabling quantum-secure global communications.

The company made a number of significant acquisitions in the space arena. As well as Capella Space, it also acquired Skyloom Global, a U.S. company in optical communications infrastructure that enables secure, high-speed data links across Earth and in orbit. But, there was more to the company than just its exciting acquisition strategy around quantum and space. In July, it signed an MoU with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance the development and deployment of quantum technologies in space.

In the first half of 2025, it also linked up Intellian Technologies, a well-known ground segment company in the satellite sector, to explore how secure quantum networking can transform satellite communications. The dealflow across 2025 was significant with acquisitions and partnerships aplenty as IonQ showcased its ambition to become one of the biggest players in quantum and space, a relatively new area of the market. The company has also seen rapid revenue growth over the last few years. With quantum computing becoming one of the next big things, IonQ is in a strong position to realize the potential of expanding quantum networks to space. With some huge acquisitions in 2025, the company is set for another pivotal year as it looks to merge space and quantum technologies together.

LYNK/OMNISPACE

The pending Lynk and Omnispace merger brings together valuable assets and experience in the direct-to-device market that could see the two companies be much stronger together than they were separately. Both were early leaders in reimagining satellite connectivity’s role in the telco ecosystem. Lynk was the first to demonstrate a text message sent from a satellite in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) to a mobile phone on Earth in 2020. Similarly, Omnispace CEO Ram Viswanathan set out an early vision of satellite being a larger part of 5G networks in a hybrid future. Despite their early successes, neither company so far has been able to move into wide, operational deployment.

The merger announced in November will bring together Omnispace’s access to S-band spectrum, with Lynk’s experience building and operating satellites and active partnerships with mobile network operators (MNOs) around the world. Omnispace cites its market access footprint as reaching 1 billion people across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia; while Lynk has relationships with more than 50 MNOs. SES is also coming onboard as a strategic investor, and the combined company will benefit from SES’s relationships with telecom and government customers. And the company has a wider vision than just consumer phones — this type of connectivity could be particularly interesting for commercial and industrial vehicles, and government and utility sectors worldwide. Joining together could be the spark that leads Lynk and Omnispace to greater success in the direct-to-device D2D market.

PLANET LABS

Planet Labs, known for being one of the original ‘New Space’ companies, is particularly ‘hot’ going into 2026 after a banner year in 2025 underpinned by international deal expansion and AI tech integration. The satellite imagery company finds itself at the intersection of AI and geopolitical changes. It's seeing more and more demand for AI-enabled solutions as nations — particularly in Europe — want greater access to satellite imagery.

Planet made inroads into the European defense market in 2025 with a $283 million multi-year deal with the German government for satellite imagery and analytics services and a seven-figure contract with NATO to deliver advanced daily monitoring and intelligence capabilities. It is investing in Europe as well, building a new satellite manufacturing facility in Germany for its Pelican satellites. The strength of Planet’s dealflow is shown in recent backlog growth. In its most recent financials, Planet reported $734 million in backlog — up more than 215 percent year-over-year. The company is expected to end its 2026 fiscal year with 22 percent revenue growth. And investors are looking at Planet with fresh eyes — the company’s stock price has increased around 250 percent over the past year.

Looking to the future, Planet has its sights on in-orbit computing. Its next-generation “Owl” monitoring satellites will have Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) onboard for more advanced onboard computing. At the same time, the company is partnering with Google for a “moonshot” project for in-orbit computing — showing that Planet continues to invest in tech innovation.

SERAPHIM SPACE

Seraphim Space has become synonymous with gold standard investing in the satellite sector. To give you an idea of Seraphim Space’s performance, you only have to look at its top four holdings and their outstanding performance in recent times. At the end of September 2025, its investments in Iceye, All.Space, Hawkeye 360 and D-Orbit were worth 192 million pounds ($258.7 million). At the end of December last year, that had increased 36 percent to reach 261 million pounds ($351.7 million). It has backed some of the biggest new success stories in satellite in recent times with the likes of Iceye, D-Orbit, Xona Space Systems, Skylo, Pixxel, and AST SpaceMobile all part of its portfolio.

Space finance and investing is a hot topic in itself and Seraphim is at the heart of this ecosystem and is considered an authority when it comes to investments in space. However, the company is not resting on its laurels. In September last year, it announced that it was launching a European subsidiary, Seraphim Space Europe, which will be headquartered in Berlin. The company is looking to tap into the lucrative European security and sovereign defense market. If it can repeat the success of some of its most recent investments, it can continue its meteoric rise.

Billions of dollars are now being invested in space companies and investors’ appetites for space show no sign of slowing down. Defense right now is the biggest driver with the geopolitical environment leading to increased spending from governments. A company like Seraphim Space is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this boom. However, finding the next Iceye or the next Hawkeye360 is easier said than done. Seraphim Space has always had a unique place, being one of the first dedicated space VC companies. It has had a very impressive few years, and is growing at a fast clip, showing that financing space companies can indeed be a lucrative business.

SPINLAUNCH

SpinLaunch, the space startup known for its centrifuge launch concept, seems like an unlikely candidate to shake up the LEO constellation market. Yet its Meridian Space constellation has the potential to be truly disruptive to the economics of LEO. Last year, SpinLaunch hired industry veteran Massimiliano Ladovaz as CEO. Ladovaz brings his experience as OneWeb CTO and experience working at operators SES, Inmarsat, and Eutelsat. He’s clear-eyed about the economic challenges associated with LEO constellations competing with Starlink.

SpinLaunch’s approach with Meridian Space is a simple satellite design with a powerful antenna, where an entire constellation can be deployed through a single standard launch. The company says this approach allows for pricing that unlocks opportunities for nations for sovereign solutions and regional operators to have capacity to compete with Starlink. SpinLaunch is working with Kongsberg NanoAvionics to build the first 280 satellites in the initial constellation. The contract was for $135 million, a surprisingly low price for that many satellites, and it came alongside an investment from Kongsberg as well. The company reports it has completed antenna and payload testing milestones and it is preparing to launch the first satellite on Transporter-18. SpinLaunch is rethinking the LEO constellation in a disruptive way.

VIASAT

Viasat is embarking on a new era with the Inmarsat integration complete as the company prepares to finally realize the capacity of the ViaSat-3 constellation. While the failure of the first ViaSat-3 satellite was a setback at a critical time of industry change, Viasat is now on firmer footing as the second satellite is en route to final orbital position, and the third satellite is nearing launch. Just one of these satellites will double the capacity of Viasat’s entire network, and both will bring more capacity to support its growing business in aviation and government satcom and bolster its position in maritime and fixed broadband.

Investors are looking at Viasat with fresh eyes as the company’s stock price soared 300 percent over the past year. Part of this was driven by momentum and attention on the company’s defense segment. Viasat was smart to restructure its segments in 2024 because the change showed the value of its defense technology portfolio, which includes encryption, cybersecurity, and tactical gateways. It took an activist investor pointing out that Viasat’s valuation wasn’t reflecting the strength of its defense portfolio for investors to take notice. The company’s stock has climbed from less than $10 a share last year to around $40 a share today, and the company is generating free cash flow.

Viasat is also staking out an interesting position in the direct-to-device landscape with Mark Dankberg’s leadership in the Mobile Satellite Services Association and Equatys, which is pitching a shared infrastructure approach to direct-to-device as a counter to large players like Starlink. At the same time, its work with 5GAA on automotive connectivity is compelling. Viasat has always been a tech leader in the satellite arena, and now is embarking on a new chapter post-Inmarsat acquisition fueled by new capacity and investments in defense and D2D.

VOYAGER TECHNOLOGIES

After a massive 2025, Voyager Technologies is in an interesting position going into 2026 and beyond. Last year, the company raised $383 million in an initial public offering, and rebranded from Voyager Space to Voyager Technologies to emphasize its role in national security. At the same time, it went on an acquisition spree, acquiring capabilities in radar analytics with ElectroMagnetic Systems; electric propulsion with Exoterra; optical communications through BridgeComm; solid rocket motors with Estes Energetics; and star trackers through Optical Physics. These acquisitions strengthen its vertical technology stack and put Voyager Technologies on more government contracts. And there’s no plans of stopping — company leadership has said that Voyager continues to pursue strategic M&A.

These acquisitions raise the question — What is Voyager building? It will be interesting to see how these capabilities and its defense focus complements the work on the Starlab commercial space station. Starlab is one of the commercial space stations in the running to serve as future home of human presence in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) when the ISS is retired. Voyager is in a joint venture with Airbus, Mitsubishi Corporation, MDA Space, Palantir Technologies, and Space Applications Services, called Starlab Space. Between its commercial space station and a wide range of capabilities, Voyager Technologies could define a new category of space prime. VS