UNIVITY, a startup that builds satellite infrastructure for telecom operators to use and resell, has closed a €27 million Series A round. The company was founded by Charles Delfieux and is focused on a specific gap in the satellite market: most major players sell connectivity directly to consumers, leaving telecom operators on the sidelines. UNIVITY wants to change that by offering a neutral, shared space infrastructure that operators can integrate into their own services.
The satellite internet market is currently valued at around $14 billion and is forecast to reach $33 billion by 2030. Mordor Intelligence Much of that growth is being driven by large, vertically integrated operators like SpaceX's Starlink, which own their satellites, manage their networks, and sell directly to end users. Traditional telecom companies have little role in that model. UNIVITY's pitch is that operators need an alternative, one where they keep control of their customers and their brand.
The Series A was led by Blast and Expansion, alongside the Deeptech 2030 fund managed by Bpifrance on behalf of the French State as part of the France 2030 program. Two family offices also took part.
The core tension in the satellite internet market right now is about who controls the customer. Companies like Starlink are what the industry calls vertically integrated: they own the full chain from satellite to subscriber. Telecom operators, by contrast, have historically managed their own networks and customer relationships. As satellite connectivity becomes more important, those operators are looking for ways to participate without giving up that control.
UNIVITY's answer is to operate in Very Low Earth Orbit, known as VLEO. Satellites placed at these very low altitudes deliver lower latency and better performance for everyday devices, including smartphones and connected vehicles. They also break up and burn in the atmosphere more quickly at the end of their operational life, which reduces the risk of space debris accumulating in orbit. That is a practical advantage at a time when the number of objects in orbit is growing fast.
"UNIVITY represents an exceptional opportunity to support a breakthrough innovation that is rethinking space connectivity infrastructure. With this Series A, we are strengthening our commitment to enabling telecom operators to capture this strategic market while addressing the challenges of sustainable space usage." — Charles Beigbeder, Co-founder of Expansion.
Three priorities are driving the use of this funding. The first is completing uniShape, a VLEO-based demonstration program built in partnership with CNES, the French space agency. Two VLEO 5G satellites will be assembled, integrated, tested, and launched into orbit to validate a full end-to-end 5G NTN service, meaning connectivity that works across both ground and space networks, as well as direct-to-cell smartphone connectivity. The company says this demonstrator will represent a world first and a key step toward its planned commercial constellation, called uniSky.
The second priority is hiring. UNIVITY is expanding its teams across engineering, industrialization, and business development to prepare for the next phase of the company. The third is commercial development, specifically building relationships with European and international telecom operators ahead of a planned scale-up that is targeted to begin in 2028.
"We are delighted to continue supporting UNIVITY, whose globally impactful innovations in VLEO and 5G NTN spectrum are critical to enabling telecom operators to remain competitive and independent in the space connectivity market. This investment fully addresses national and European sovereignty challenges in connectivity, which are at the core of our investment thesis." — Stéphane Lefevre-Sauli, Senior Investment Director at Bpifrance.
UNIVITY describes its offering as wholesale space infrastructure. Rather than selling internet to consumers directly, it provides the underlying satellite network that telecom operators can use to serve their own customers. The company uses VLEO satellites alongside 5G NTN spectrum, a technical standard that allows satellite and ground-based mobile networks to work together. In practical terms, this means a telecom subscriber could receive satellite connectivity through their existing operator, without needing a separate account or special hardware.
The comparison the company draws is to fiber infrastructure, where a single entity builds and maintains the network, and multiple operators sell access to it. By using spectrum that telecom operators already hold rather than trying to acquire new frequency bands, UNIVITY also sidesteps one of the more competitive bottlenecks in the satellite business.
"We are building the reference space infrastructure designed for telecom operators, covering the full range of connectivity needs — from ultra-high-speed broadband to direct-to-smartphone connectivity. The convergence between terrestrial and space networks is inevitable. Our ambition is to enable operators to leverage space as a natural extension of their terrestrial 5G networks, combining performance, competitiveness, and sovereignty." — Charles Delfieux, Founder and CEO of UNIVITY.
Beyond the product itself, UNIVITY has stated ambitions around European digital sovereignty, helping operators retain independence in a market where non-European players have significant advantages. The company frames its technology as a complement to existing terrestrial networks, filling gaps in rural areas and strengthening the resilience of critical infrastructure.
The Series A brought together venture capital and public funding. Blast, a private investment club co-founded by Anthony Bourbon and Samuel Guez, participated alongside Expansion, a European venture capital fund that focuses on deeptech in aerospace and defense. Bpifrance invested through the Deeptech 2030 fund, which is part of France 2030, a €54 billion state program designed to support innovation in strategic industries. Two family offices rounded out the round.
The funding is intended to carry UNIVITY through the uniShape demonstration phase, with commercial operations targeted to begin in 2028.
