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SWISSto12 banks $70M while staying profitable
Swiss satellite maker SWISSto12 raised $70 million while profitable, with $140 million in 2025 revenue and over $500 million in signed contracts.
Image: TNW
SWISSto12 has pulled off a rare feat in space hardware: raising $70 million while already in the black. The Swiss company said it closed the €61 million Series C just days after ESA member states committed $84.8 million to its HummingSat program, giving it more than $150 million in fresh capital in a month.
The company did not disclose its investors, but the underlying numbers stand out. SWISSto12 booked $140 million in revenue in 2025, holds more than $500 million in signed contracts, and says it has grown 110% a year since 2022. It expects to be EBITDA-positive this year. Founded in 2011 as a spin-out from Switzerland’s EPFL, the company now employs about 224 people.
Its pitch is built around manufacturing. SWISSto12 uses 3D printing to make the radio-frequency internals of its hardware, producing parts that are lighter and faster to build.
The company sells two main products:
- HummingSat, a compact geostationary satellite about one-tenth the size of a conventional one, designed to share a ride to orbit with a larger spacecraft
- HummingLink, a set of payloads and antennas that can be attached to other operators' satellites across different orbits
That approach has helped it win business with established operators instead of competing head-on with them. SWISSto12 says it has seven HummingSat contracts, including deals with SES and Viasat, and more than 2,000 HummingLink units already in orbit. The company is targeting markets including direct-to-device connectivity, broadcasting, and sovereign communications.
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Europe’s push for sovereign space infrastructure
The funding round fits a broader trend in Europe, where capital is flowing into space and deep tech as governments and investors try to build regional champions. The article points to ICEYE’s €450 million round as one example, alongside a wider run of smaller deals. In many cases, public funding is setting the pace, with private money following.
“Space is increasingly recognised as essential infrastructure for the global economy.”
The backdrop is sovereignty. Governments increasingly want communications systems that do not depend on one orbit, one operator, or one foreign power.
GEO market pressure and Astranis competition
The bet is not without risk. Orders for GEO satellites are shrinking as low Earth orbit constellations take more broadband and maritime business, leaving SWISSto12 exposed to a changing market.
It is also up against better-funded rivals, especially Astranis, the US company building similar small GEO satellites. According to the source, Astranis has raised about $1.2 billion. For now, though, SWISSto12 has something most space-hardware startups do not: profitability.
Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via TNW
