This Italian Startup Just Raised $5.4M to Beam Laser Power to Satellites

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-21

### A New Way to Power Satellites What if you could send energy through space using nothing but light? That's exactly what ORiS, a Turin-based DeepTech startup, is working on. They just closed a $4.9 million pre-Seed round and secured a $540,000 grant, bringing their total funding to about $5.4 million. The round was led by Earlybird and co-led by Pitchdrive, with participation from Galaxia, Vento, and Piemonte Next Fund. The grant came through the Piedmont Region's "Consolidamento patrimoniale e crescita delle start up innovative" program. "ORiS' vision is to support the disruptive growth of the space economy by reshaping the standard for how satellites are designed and operated," said Andrea Villa, CEO and co-founder. "We want to optimise satellites for high performance and profitability. Our first step is to make energy in orbit a commodity, available at any time, just as we are used to here on Earth." ### Power When You Need It Here's the problem ORiS is solving. Satellites today rely on solar panels for power. But when they're in the dark side of Earth during an eclipse, or when their panels degrade over time, they're stuck. That limits what operators can do with them. ORiS is building an in-orbit energy distribution grid. Their laser-based wireless power transmission tech lets satellites access extra energy directly in orbit. Think of it like a mobile charger for spacecraft. For satellites already up there, this means operators can: - Use their payloads more often - Keep running through eclipse periods - Extend mission lifetime as solar panels degrade ### From Drones to Deep Space Now here's where it gets interesting. ORiS isn't just aiming for space. They've already validated their tech through LOONA, a wireless recharging prototype for drones developed within NATO DIANA's accelerator program. They demonstrated wireless power transfer to a hovering drone at over 328 feet. That's a near-term dual-use application and a practical testbed for the same laser-based power transmission capabilities they're developing for space. The company is among the first European players developing this capability across terrestrial dual-use applications, Low Earth Orbit, and lunar infrastructure. For lunar applications, ORiS is working on wireless power transmission to surface assets like rovers. They've already explored this in a feasibility study for Thales Alenia Space. ### The Team Behind the Tech ORiS was founded in 2024 at Politecnico di Torino by Andrea Villa (CEO), Anna Mauro (CTO), Domenico Edoardo Sfasciamuro (CCO), and Francesco Lopez (COO). They were completing their MSc in Aerospace Engineering, with support and technical guidance from Prof. Stefano Mauro. The startup was backed by the I3P Incubator of Politecnico di Torino and the ESA BIC Turin program. It emerged from the CDP Venture Capital ecosystem with support from Galaxia. ### What's Next Koen Christiaens, Managing Partner at Pitchdrive, said: "ORiS' dual-use roadmap combines near-term validation with an ambitious vision for the future. LOONA gives the company a faster path to validating its core wireless power technology and building commercial momentum, while supporting its broader vision of making energy more accessible in space." The company plans to use this capital to: - Expand their technical team - Accelerate R&D on critical subsystems - Relocate to new offices with lab and clean-room facilities - Develop the flight model for a future satellite-to-satellite WPT mission - Advance LOONA from a prototype platform towards a product If they pull this off, we might be looking at a future where energy in space is as easy to get as plugging into a wall socket. That could change everything about how we design and operate satellites.