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- Swiss Space Company SWISSto12 Named as One of Europe’s Top Technology Scaleups
Swiss Space Company SWISSto12 Named as One of Europe’s Top Technology Scaleups
- The Leading European Technology Scaleup (LETS) report by France Digitale, identifies the leading growth-stage technology companies in Europe
- SWISSto12 is one of nine Swiss companies selected and is the only satellite manufacturer among the 251 companies featured by LETS
- The news follows SWISSto12’s recent announcement with partners—the European Space Agency, Intelsat, and Inmarsat/Viasat—reporting excellent progress in the development of its Geostationary SmallSat, HummingSat, ahead of its first launch in 2026
Renens, Switzerland, September 18, 2024 – SWISSto12, Europe’s fastest-growing satellite company has been named as a Leading European Technology Scaleup (LETS) by France Digitale. The LETS map identifies the leading growth-stage technology companies across Europe generating over €10 million in global revenue. SWISSto12 is one of nine Swiss companies and the only satellite manufacturer among the list of 251 companies featured. To date, SWISSto12 has secured to date over €350 million in customer orders across both its satellite and Radio Frequency product lines.
SWISSto12, originally spun out of EPFL, is headquartered in a 5,700m2 facility in Renens, Switzerland and operates subsidiaries in the USA. The company is the developer and manufacturer of the world’s first commercial Small Satellite for Geostationary orbit – HummingSat – and also provides next-generation Radio Frequency products and subsystems based on a unique 3D printing technology, with over 1,000 products already in orbit. SWISSto12 has sold four HummingSat satellites to Intelsat and ViaSat+Inmarsat, making it the first ever growth-stage company to sign contracts of this magnitude with global satellite telecommunication operators. This week, SWISSto12 reported it conducted Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR) for the Intelsat 45 and Inmarsat 8 missions in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA).
At around the size of a washing machine and with a mass of approximately 1000kg, HummingSat is less expensive to build and launch than traditional Geostationary satellites which are typically the size of a truck and weigh in excess of 3000kg. Unlike traditional Geostationary satellites, HummingSat is also compact enough to be launched on low-cost rideshare missions. With HummingSat, telecommunications operators are for the first time able to deploy lower-cost satellites without sacrificing performance or reliability. The first HummingSat is scheduled to launch on an Ariane 6 rocket in 2026.
Emile de Rijk, Founder and CEO of SWISSto12 said:
“By combining Switzerland’s heritage in engineering precision and its collaborative approach to business with world-class innovation and collaborations, SWISSto12 has rapidly emerged as a key player in the global space and communications industry.”
About SWISSto12
SWISSto12 is a leading manufacturer of advanced satellite RF products, payloads and systems, including the HummingSat: a small yet powerful geostationary telecommunications satellite developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) through its public-private-partnership program. The company’s RF products benefit from unique and patented 3D-printing technologies and associated Radio Frequency (RF) product designs that deliver lightweight, compact, highly performing, and competitive RF functionality.
Besides its space portfolio, the company is also active in telecommunications and surveillance applications for the aeronautic industry. SWISSto12 has developed commercially with success in Europe and in the USA, and is amongst the fastest growing aerospace companies in Europe. SWISSto12 spun off in 2011 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), is privately owned and backed by prominent Swiss and European Investors.
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