French Satellite Startup Univity Raises €27M Series A
They want to build Europe’s sovereign VLEO 5G constellation, an alternative to Starlink.
April 23, 2026 – 7:23 am
Founded in 2022 and formerly called Constellation Technologies & Operations, Univity is targeting a constellation of at least 1,600 satellites in very low Earth orbit, using telecom operators’ own 5G mmWave spectrum rather than competing with them. The Series A round raised approximately €27 million (∼$32 million) led by investment firms Blast and Expansion Ventures, alongside France’s Deeptech 2030 fund managed by Bpifrance and two family offices.
According to founder and president Charles Delfieux, the company has now raised €68 million in total financing, including equity, debt, subsidies, and contract revenues from France’s CNES space agency. The Series A will fund the uniShape demonstration program: building, launching, and operating two VLEO satellites by February 2028 to validate the company’s end-to-end 5G connectivity system before commercial deployment.
Univity’s Unique Approach
Univity’s strategic proposition is unusual in the satellite connectivity market. Instead of selling internet access directly to consumers, like Starlink, Univity builds infrastructure for telecom operators to extend their existing 5G services from space.
The technical key is using operators’ own 5G millimetre-wave (mmWave) spectrum for satellite-based connectivity. This means a user’s existing phone plan and SIM card would work with Univity’s satellites just as they do with a terrestrial mast. Operating as a neutral wholesale infrastructure provider, Univity avoids competing with its potential customers and positions itself as the space-based layer of an operator’s existing network rather than a rival service.
Technical Advantages and Challenges
The VLEO altitude of approximately 375 kilometres, significantly lower than Starlink’s operating altitude of roughly 550 kilometres, is central to Univity’s technical claims. Closer proximity to Earth reduces signal latency, enables better performance for smartphones and connected vehicles, and allows for smaller, cheaper ground terminals.
The trade-off is aerodynamic drag, which depletes fuel faster. Univity’s satellites use an aerodynamic design specifically to minimize drag, allowing them to operate for approximately seven years before running out of propellant, according to Delfieux.
The company has already demonstrated the core technology. In June 2025, Univity launched its first regenerative 5G mmWave payload for space telecommunications, a technology demonstrator called uniSpark, which processes and manages the 5G signal.