Bitspiration Booster is a VC fund investing in early-stage science and technology ventures startups based in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region. We recognize that innovation is not evenly distributed, invest in global collaboration and partnerships, and provide long-term support from our team of experienced operator-investors.

Bitspiration Booster

PARP is to support entrepreneurship through implementation of actions aimed at using innovative solutions by entrepreneurs, development of human resources, expansion on international markets, regional development. Its achievement will contribute to the improvement of the competitive position of Polish economy, both on European Union markets and on the international market.

Polish Agency for Enterprise Development

The National Research and Development Centre is an executive agency of the Minister of Science and Higher Education. It was established in summer 2007 as a unit realizing the tasks of scientific, scientific-technical and innovation policy. At the time of inception was the first unit of this type, created as a platform for effective dialogue between science and business environment. Currently it operates under the Act of 30 April 2010 by the National Centre for Research and Development (Dz. U. 2010, No. 96 item. 616). Introduced in autumn 2010 reform of the science center has allowed greater freedom in disposing financial resources, within the framework of the strategic research agenda. An additional 1 September 2011, NRDC has expanded the scope of its activities with new initiatives and opportunities. Taking over from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education function of the Intermediate in three operational programs: Human Capital, Innovative Economy and Infrastructure and Environment, has become one of the largest centers supporting innovation in Poland. The Centre is funded by the Treasury and European Union funds.

National Center for Research & Development

IS-Wireless

IS-Wireless develops and delivers 4G and 5G mobile networks supporting more users with better performance at lower cost by applying cutting edge technologies. The company is a provider of software and hardware necessary for building 4G and 5G networks in the scope of both RAN and Core. IS-Wireless participates in the Open RAN revolution and expects significant changes in the way networks are built and deployed in the coming years. The company has been recognized as one of a few European RAN vendors by leading telco operators including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telecom Italia (TIM), Telefónica and Vodafone in their November 2021 report “BUILDING AN OPEN RAN ECOSYSTEM FOR EUROPE”.

IS-Wireless is a Polish provider of 4G and 5G mobile network solutions based on the open radio access network model (Open RAN). The company specializes in RAN software and offers products such as the O-CU (open centralized unit), O-DU (open distributed unit), and RIC (RAN intelligent controller).&nbsp;

Wireless #5GMadeTogether

Wireless: Massive MIMO is 'a battlefield for closed RAN'

Wireless and VMware Collaboration Yields New O

Poland’s first Open RAN 5G network for industry 4.0 built using local solutions

Future Telco Networks in the Open RAN Model from Poland

Poland pilots first Open RAN

Wireless joins "5G for Poland" agreement

Wireless steps into Europe's open RAN void

A new generation for mobile connectivity with 5G and beyond

Next-gen Private Mobile Networks

IS-Wireless Advances in RIC Technology with $5M Funding

IS-Wireless is a Polish provider of 4G and 5G mobile network solutions based on the open radio access network model (Open RAN). The company specializes in RAN software and offers products such as the O-CU (open centralized unit), O-DU (open distributed unit), and RIC (RAN intelligent controller).&nbsp;IS-Wireless partners with hardware solution providers to provide end-to-end mobile networks of network software and hardware, including commercial off-the-shelf servers and connected radio units. The offering also includes installation services. IS-Wireless supports private and large-scale deployments and has a range of use cases, including physically separated private networks such as disaster recovery, airports, hospitals, private villas, and military and government applications.IS-Wireless participates in several R&amp;D projects funded by the European Commission and the National Public Authority, having worked with companies like Intel, Thales, HHI Fraunhofer, ATOS, NEC, and OTE (November 2024).Key customers and partnershipsIn May 2023, IS-Wireless partnered with Hubraum, Deutsche Telekom AG's tech incubator, to deploy a 5G campus network at Krakow Technology Park.

Astranis is a San Francisco-based satellite manufacturer and operator that provides services to commercial customers and the US Government. The company specializes in building small, low-cost telecommunications satellites designed to provide broadband internet access to underserved areas worldwide. These satellites, which can operate from geostationary orbit (GEO) at an altitude of approximately 22,000 mi above Earth, are "MicroGEO" satellites, which are significantly smaller (~400 kg) and less expensive than traditional GEO satellites. The company owns, operates, and offers its satellites to commercial customers on a leasing basis.The company's proprietary technology includes software-defined radio payloads allowing frequency and coverage flexibility.&nbsp;In April 2023, Astranis launched its first commercial satellite, Arcturus, to provide internet service in Alaska. However, the satellite experienced issues with its solar array system, limiting its operational capacity.Astranis unveiled its next-generation satellite, Omega, in April 2024. Omega satellites are designed to deliver over 50 Gbps of throughput with an operational life of 10 years. The company aimed to manufacture 24 Omega satellites annually by 2025, launch its first Omega Satellite in 2026, and have over 100 satellites in orbit by 2030. Astranis also developed UtilitySat, a multi-mission commercial satellite capable of performing simultaneous connectivity missions and relocating to different orbital positions as needed.Key customers and partnershipsAs of April 2024, Astranis’ commercial customers for MicroGEO communications satellites spanned the US, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines, and Thailand. Astranis also partnered with satellite services providers and telecommunications providers, including 1) Orbits Corp to provide connections to up to 5,000 rural locations in the Philippines (November 2023); 2) Apco Networks (AiTelecom) to launch two MicroGEO satellites in Mexico (September 2023); and 3) Anuvu to provide broadband services in Alaska (May 2023).

Astranis

Sateliot is a Barcelona-based company developing a constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) nanosatellites to provide global 5G NB-IoT (narrowband Internet-of-Things) connectivity. The company aims to offer seamless IoT coverage worldwide, especially in remote areas lacking terrestrial networks. Its technology allows standard NB-IoT devices to connect directly to its satellites without requiring specialized hardware.&nbsp;As of August 2024, Sateliot launched six satellites, including four deployed on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. These satellites, measuring 20 x 10 x 35 cm and weighing 10 kg, orbit at an altitude of ~600 km and have an expected lifespan of five years. As of November 2024, the company planned to expand its constellation to over 100 satellites by 2028. Sateliot's technology utilizes the 3GPP 5G NB-IoT NTN (non-terrestrial network) standard, allowing seamless integration between terrestrial and satellite networks. The company claims to be the first LEO satellite connectivity provider to work under the 3GPP standard. Sateliot uses a patented two-step authentication method called “Store &amp; Forward,” which stores data when a satellite is not in a position to connect with a ground station and forwards it when it enters the coverage range.Sateliot's business model involves partnering with mobile network operators to offer IoT connectivity as a roaming service. It targets agriculture, logistics, ocean logistics, livestock, infrastructure, energy, wearables, mining, military, and oil and gas industries.&nbsp;&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsAs of June 2024, the company had secured EUR 200 million in recurring revenue contracts from 400 clients in 50 countries. Sateliot’s mobile network operator partners included Telefonica, AWS, GSMA, Comfone, and GCF. Sateliot also partnered with t42, a freight software and analytics company, to deploy thousands of 5G-IoT sensors in shipping containers across more than 50 countries (November 2023). The company also partnered with Sensefinity to launch global 5G-IoT satellite connectivity to facilitate data transmission from smart containers for Maritime shipping (January 2023).&nbsp;Sateliot has partnerships with 1) SpaceX for a satellite launch (May 2024), 2) Exolaunch for launch services (May 2024), and Leaf Space for ground station support (June 2024).&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sateliot

Omnispace is a global communications company that has developed a non-geostationary satellite (NGSO) system to provide direct-to-device connectivity and Internet-of-Things (IoT) services worldwide. Omnispace's technology utilizes the S-band spectrum in the 1,980–2,010 MHz and 2,170–2,200 MHz ranges, which aligns with the 3GPP 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) band n256 specifications. Omnispace's network is designed to provide ubiquitous 5G connectivity, enabling users to transition between satellite and terrestrial networks without needing multiple devices.Omnispace has secured regulatory approvals to provide services in multiple countries across Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, including Brazil. As of May 2024, the company operated a few experimental satellites in low- and medium-Earth orbit and planned to deploy over 600 low-Earth orbit satellites, with initial services expected to begin in 2026 using 300 satellites.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsAs of November 2024, Omnispace’s mobile network operator partnerships included 1) Smart Communications in the Philippines to explore use cases such as 5G connectivity in remote areas and disaster relief (August 2022) and 2) MTN Group, Africa's largest mobile network operator, to develop and deploy satellite IoT and 5G services across MTN's markets in Africa and the Middle East (March 2024).&nbsp;Omnispace also collaborated with 1) Microsoft to deliver a 5G NTN network using its Azure services (April 2022) and 2) Ligado Networks to combine their licensed mobile satellite services spectrum to create a portfolio of licensed satellite spectrum for global direct-to-device connectivity (February 2023).&nbsp;&nbsp;

Omnispace

Skyloom Global Corp. is a telecommunications company based in Broomfield, Colorado, focused on developing and deploying space-based telecommunication infrastructure for global data transport services. The company specializes in optical communication technologies, which enable high-bandwidth connections for satellite-to-satellite, satellite-to-Earth, and Earth-to-satellite transmissions.&nbsp;Skyloom's offerings include&nbsp;<ol><li>V’ger: Optical communications terminals (OCTs) that support high bandwidth connections from low-Earth orbit (LEO), LEO-ground to LEO-airborne, and LEO-maritime. It supports a speed of 1–10 Gbps. Skyloom's OCT technology reportedly can transmit 10–100x more data back to Earth than the current radio frequency (RF) systems.</li><li>Scotty: A user terminal for LEO satellites accessing Skyloom's network, which enables multi-Gbps data transfer from LEO to on-the-cloud. It connects satellites in LEO to multi-user optical relay satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO), supporting LEO-GEO links to up to 20 Gbps.&nbsp;</li><li>Uhura: A geostationary optical relay satellite for GEO-LEO and GEO-ground data transfer, which supports a speed of up to 20 Gbps for LEO to GEO OCT and GEO-ground OCT. Skyloom planned to deploy the first node for Asia-Pacific coverage in Q4 2024 (November 2024).&nbsp;</li><li>Kirk: An optical ground station that can be installed at a traditional ground station, co-located with existing or planned data centers.</li></ol>In September 2023, the company achieved the AS 9100 Certification for product assurance manufacturing. In September 2024, it passed the US Space Development Agency's (SDA’s) interoperability qualification process, confirming the interoperability of its optical terminals with SDA's ground interface and other optical terminal suppliers.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsSkyloom established several key partnerships and customer relationships in the aerospace and satellite communications sectors, including<ol><li>NEC Corporation to develop high-speed optical communication equipment for multi-orbit satellite networks (March 2024)&nbsp;</li><li>Satellogic, a company that offers sub-meter Earth observation data and satellite technology to integrate Skyloom's OCT onto Satellogic satellites to test new methods of high-resolution Earth observation data delivery (September 2023)</li><li>Axiom Space to integrate and showcase high data-rate optical inter-satellite links on the first module of a commercial space station (December 2023)</li><li>Space Compass, a joint venture between NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT, to develop GEO-based optical communications network infrastructure (September 2022).</li></ol>In October 2024, Skyloom announced a joint venture with Officina Stellare, an Italian space technology company, to establish Skyloom Europe. This venture aimed to create a high-throughput production plant in Italy for manufacturing optical communication terminals, focusing on advanced encryption techniques and quantum coding for airborne and space applications.&nbsp;

Skyloom Global

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an aviation and aerospace technology company founded by Elon Musk. The primary activities of SpaceX include the design, manufacturing, and launch of advanced rockets and spacecrafts; Rideshare; the operation of its Starlink satellite constellation; and human spaceflight.SpaceX’s Starlink operates a constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites providing global broadband internet services. It provides connectivity for residential, business, and mobile use, including options for fixed site, land mobility, aviation, and maritime connectivity. As of October 2024, Starlink had approximately 6,000 satellites in orbit, with plans to have as many as 42,000 satellites in its constellation.Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;SpaceX has partnered with several companies, including<ul><li>T-Mobile to provide cell service coverage in rural and underserved areas of the US through SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation. Under the partnership in January 2024, SpaceX launched its first six Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities.</li><li>SpaceX also partnered with Comcast Business to deliver high-speed internet connectivity to enterprise customers in underserved regions without access to fiber networks (June 2024).</li><li>SES, a satellite network provider, to deliver a combined medium-Earth orbit (MEO)-LEO satellite connectivity service for cruise ships (September 2023)</li><li>Ando Hazama and University of Tokyo to provide internet connectivity for local 5G networks in remote mountainous areas (October 2023)</li><li>John Deere to provide satellite communications service for farmers facing rural connectivity challenges (January 2024)</li><li>United Airlines (September 2024), Air France (September 2024), and airBaltic (April 2024) to provide in-flight connectivity.&nbsp;</li></ul>

SpaceX

Companies that offer 5G/6G connectivity solutions for enterprises to use in private telecommunications, using cell towers, base stations and other terrestrial infrastructure

Companies that offer 5G/6G connectivity solutions for enterprises for use in private telecommunications, using satellites and other space-based equipment

Companies that develop hardware and equipment for mobile service providers and enterprises to build, maintain and optimize private 5G/6G networks, including switches, antennas, microchips, and routers

Companies that develop next-generation software solutions for mobile service providers and enterprises to manage and optimize cloud infrastructure and network services

Provides 5G/6G telecom technologies to offer lower latency and increased capacity and coverage

Some network optimization companies offer a single network to connect users and IoT devices globally

Earth-based hardware and telecom software companies adopt AI/ML for design and RAN automation

IS-Wireless

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