Luxembourg-based 5G IoT satellite operator OQ Technology has secured €13 million ($12.9 million) of new investment in a Series A funding round to develop its own tech solutions, acquire more spectrum, and expand its satellite constellation, the company has said. The funding round was led by Wa’ed Ventures, the venture arm of Saudi Arabian energy firm Aramco, and Phaistos Investment Fund, managed by 5G Ventures in Greece.
OQ Technology’s satellites provide data processing for IoT applications in remote and rural areas, including for wellhead monitoring, SCADA systems, asset tracking, drone controls, vehicle telematics, and various use cases in mining and defence industries.
Omar Qaise, founder and chief executive at OQ Technology, said: “Against a challenging economic backdrop, our decision to seek funding was rewarded with a raise that will help us achieve our immediate goals in terms of growth, expansion into the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America, and Oceania, increasing our spectrum licences and patents portfolio, and advancing our product development.”
He added: “We have pioneered satellite-based 5G communications with the introduction of the world’s first universal IoT device providing connectivity using a satellite in low-earth orbit (LEO) in 2019 and other patented technologies since. All our launched missions and our service demos with Global Fortune 500 companies have been successful, and we have more missions in the pipeline.”
The company has recently established subsidiaries in Athens, in Greece, and Al Khobar, in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi subsidiary will host the first and only “satellite 5G network centre of its kind” in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region. The subsidiary will be used to engage with large oil and gas companies in the region and with the local industrial ecosystem and universities.
The Greek subsidiary will operate as part of the Corallia accelerator unit at the Athena Research Center, which also hosts the Hellenic Space Technologies and Applications Cluster (si-Cluster). Earlier this year, OQ Technology launched its third satellite mission, Tiger-3, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rideshare mission, called Transporter-4.
Fahad Alidi, managing director and chief executive at Wa’ed Ventures, commented: “Our investment in OQ Technology, a global pioneer in satellite technology, is a true manifestation of our mission to position the Kingdom as the centre of gravity for global tech ventures. We envision OQ to become the nucleus to building a full space tech ecosystem that starts with the Kingdom and spreads out to the surrounding region.”
The global satellite IoT subscriber base is forecast to reach 21.2 million units in 2026, up from 3.9 million units in 2021, according to a recent report by Swedish analyst firm Berg Insight. The number of satellite IoT subscribers will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.3% during the 2021-2026 period, according to the report.
