Hanwha invests another $11 mn in US communications firm Kymeta

Hanwha Systems Co., the defense and air mobility unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, made another investment of $11 million in Kymeta Corp., a US satellite communications firm, to improve competitiveness in the low-orbit satellite sector.

Hanwha System said on Wednesday that it has participated in Kymeta’s equity funding led by Bill Gates to raise $84 million. In 2020, the South Korean company invested $30 million in the US firm.

Kymeta, founded in 2012, is a technology venture company that commercializes and sells electronic satellite communication antennas. The Redmond, Washington-based connectivity company produces satellite antennas to be installed on vehicles, buses, trains and ships in remote areas or at sea where conditions for communication are unstable.

PRODUCT EXPANSION

The company, which also provides communication services, holds numerous US and international patents and technical assets related to satellite communication antennas.

Kymeta plans to use the proceeds from the funding for the expansion of products for low-orbit satellites and defense sectors.

“We are excited to continue in the development of both our second-generation u8 product family and third-generation technology that promises to provide even higher efficiencies and lower costs for our customers,” said Kymeta’s Executive Chairman and Co-CEO S. Douglas Hutcheson in a statement after the funding.

Hanwha System is developing the satellite sector as its core business, utilizing radar, surveillance, reconnaissance, and communication technologies accumulated in the defense industry.

In August of last year, the company invested $300 million in UK’s satellite communications firm OneWeb in a move to expand its presence in the growing commercial space market.

Write to Jung-hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.