Europe's 5G Space Race Heats Up with This Startup Duo

Jan de Vries · 2026-11-09

Europe just moved one step closer to beaming 5G straight from the sky. Swiss SpaceTech startup SWISSto12 and French startup UNIVITY have cleared a key design review for two advanced antennas that could soon deliver 5G from space. ### The Antennas That Make It Possible At the heart of this collaboration are two active phased-array antennas being built by SWISSto12 for UNIVITY's demonstration satellites. The first is an S-band array that can connect directly to standard 5G smartphones—no special hardware needed. The second is a Ka-band antenna operating at 26 GHz, designed for broadband and feeder links that tie satellites into ground networks. By packing both into one satellite, UNIVITY wants to let telecom operators offer both broadband and direct-to-device services under their own brands. Think of it as extending your existing mobile network into the sky, not replacing it. ### The Money Behind the Mission Both startups have been on a fundraising tear in 2026. SWISSto12 pulled in €73 million ($79 million) in January from European Space Agency member states for its HummingSat program, then closed a €61 million ($66 million) Series C in July. UNIVITY raised €27 million ($29 million) in April from Blast, Expansion, the Deeptech 2030 fund managed by Bpifrance, and two family offices. > "UNIVITY set us an ambitious schedule; reaching Critical Design Review in less than a year was possible due to SWISSto12's proprietary and differentiated payload and antenna technology and a vertically integrated delivery model," says Emile de Rijk, CEO and founder of SWISSto12. ### From Lab to Launch SWISSto12, founded in 2011 as a spin-off from EPFL, specializes in satellite payloads and compact geostationary satellites, using 3D printing to manufacture passive radiating antenna components. UNIVITY, founded in 2022 by Charles Delfieux, is building a Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) constellation to help telecom operators extend 5G into space. The development is part of UNIVITY's uniShape program, backed by France 2030 and the French Space Agency (CNES). The goal is to demonstrate high-throughput, low-latency 5G using VLEO satellites—and eventually create a shared, neutral space infrastructure that gives European and international operators more control over their connectivity. ### What's Next Completing the Critical Design Review means the antenna designs can now move into hardware production, verification, and acceptance testing. While operational connectivity in orbit is still a ways off, this milestone validates a satellite architecture that can support two different 5G services at once. For SWISSto12, it's a chance to put its HummingLink antenna and payload technologies to work on a real European connectivity project. For Europe, it's another step toward sovereign satellite communications—and a potential game-changer for how we stay connected, even in the most remote places.