Estonian space technology company Golbriak Space has raised €4M to expand production capacity as it moves into a new office and laboratory facility in Tallinn.
The seed round was co-led by Join Capital and PhotonVentures, with additional funding from Takeoff, an acceleration programme for aerospace and advanced hardware startups managed by Plug and Play, writes Resilience Media.
Golbriak is scaling a validated production pipeline
Golbriak develops laser communication systems for satellite and other non-terrestrial networks. Its two main products are the ERMESAI+ terminal for space applications and the ARES optical telecommunications terminal for drones and high-altitude platforms.
Both products use a common, software-defined architecture intended to make high-capacity optical communications easier to integrate, operate and deploy across different platforms and networks. Laser communications can transmit more data per connection than radio-frequency systems, while the narrower beams are more difficult to intercept or jam.
The company’s terminals also reduce their dependence on the pointing capabilities of the host satellite, drone or other platform. This eases integration and allows multiple terminals to operate on the same spacecraft or aircraft. Common hardware can be configured through software for different networks and communications standards, including SDA, ESTOL and CCSDS where wavelength requirements are compatible.
“Golbriak already has functioning technology, paying customers and clear demand from operators planning the next generation of satellite networks. Years of specialised engineering have created a significant technological and commercial lead. This investment accelerates the company’s ability to manufacture at the scale its customers will require,” said Jan Borgstädt, founding partner at Join Capital.
Building local capacity in Tallinn
The startup was founded by Nicola Garzaniti, CEO, and Simone Briatore, CTO, after the pair met during a PhD programme. The company was established after winning a Copernicus Masters challenge in 2017 and began at Tehnopol business park in Tallinn before moving to the city’s Nõmme district as it expanded.
Golbriak has now taken the keys to a new office and laboratory in Mustamäe. The facility will support additional hiring, including space systems engineers, embedded software engineers and production technicians.
“Closing this round marks a turning point for Golbriak,” said Garzaniti. The company designs, manufactures and assembles its systems in-house, with semiconductors supplied externally. It has also been working on integrating its manufacturing and assembly processes. “Now the pipeline is ready and validated, it’s just a matter of scaling,” Garzaniti said.
Golbriak’s production-ready systems currently support data rates starting at 2.5 Gbps, while a 10 Gbps system is planned for 2027. The company is currently producing double-digit numbers of terminals per year and is targeting output of 200 terminals per month, with a longer-term goal of reaching 300 to 400.
The company has reached its current capacity without funding to date and has built its operations around customers from the beginning. The new investment is intended to help it manufacture at the scale required by its customer pipeline while expanding the workforce and production base in Estonia.
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