Satlyt to Launch Space Software on SpaceX Rocket Alongside Google's Prototype
· Technology · TechCrunch
Rama Afullo, a Kenyan American engineer formerly at Google and SpaceX, co-founded Satlyt to build software enabling satellites to share computing workloads in orbit. Satlyt has raised an $8 million seed round and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and Nairobi. Its software will launch Thursday on a SpaceX rocket alongside Google's Project Suncatcher prototype for orbital data centers. Unlike SpaceX or Google, Satlyt does not plan to build its own spacecraft but aims to provide software that works across multiple satellite platforms. The software has already flown on two demonstration missions, including one where Google DeepMind's Gemma AI model reduced transmission size of error reports by over 60%. The upcoming launch will deploy Satlyt's software on a spacecraft built by Indian startup TakeMe2Space.
Why it matters
Satlyt's approach could lower costs for satellite operators by enabling in-orbit AI processing, reducing reliance on expensive ground-based data downlink. This may accelerate the adoption of AI in space, particularly benefiting companies and startups using satellite constellations for Earth observation, communications, or navigation.
Read the original report — TechCrunch
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