[Satellite TODAY 07-17-13] Washington state-based Kymeta recently closed a $50 million Series C financing arrangement, serving to further accelerate the company’s growth plans. This includes new technology such as the use of a new flat satellite antenna to expand and improve its services, said Bob McCambridge, president and chief operating officer at Kymeta.

 

      During an exclusive interview with SatelliteTODAY.com, McCambridge said that "the financing will support the company’s operations until it begins generating revenue from sales of its products in early 2015. Kymeta is exceptionally well positioned to continue to execute on its existing product roadmap."

 

    Jay Gullish, director of space and telecommunications with Futron Corporation, agreed, noting that, with this new financing, Kymeta is now able to "quickly identify technology needs, raise capital and go to market in a way you don’t think of traditional space players are doing," Gullish said.

 

      Kymeta, a privately held technology company, designs and manufactures satellite communication antennas and systems. Osage University Partners and the Kresge Foundation joined existing Kymeta investors including Bill Gates, Lux Capital and Liberty Global in the financing.
 

     McCambridge said with this round of financing in place, Kymeta is now positioned to move from a period of technology refinement to the product development stage, leading to the commercial launch of its new solutions in early 2015. "Kymeta will accelerate its growth plans to extend the technology platform and deliver new products to the satellite industry," McCambridge said noting that the Kymeta technology will enable new broadband mobile and "highly flexible portable and fixed services to a wide range of applications."

 

     As previously reported by SatelliteTODAY.COM, Inmarsat signed a deal in March with Kymeta to develop the Kymeta Aero Antenna, a new satellite antenna using patented metamaterials technology that would enable business jets of any size to access high-speed broadband connectivity globally through Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) service.
 

     In April 2013, Kymeta announced that it successfully closed a link with a Ka-band DTH satellite transporting high definition TV signals, McCambridge said. The new technology offers innovation and improvement for a wide range of applications. "Today, Kymeta has received and transmitted prototypes working in our laboratories. The team will now accelerate its efforts towards commercialization of its technology," he added.

 

 

     The differences stem from the way these western-based companies are securing funds. Noting that, while traditional companies such as Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin typically raise capital out of Washington D.C. and New York, Gullish said companies such as Kymeta are finding other creative alternatives.

 

     "That’s good news, [because it] means there is going to be more innovation in the space industry and that will come from those talented people tied to capital. That’s the really exciting long term issue," he said. Gullish’s comments come in the wake of Kymeta’s financing news.

 

     Breaking down the technology into three categories, McCambridge said Kymeta is currently delivering portable satellite terminals to customers through established and specialized distributors, benefitting those involved in media reporting, disaster recovery and assistance, defense and oil and gas exploration. Terrestrial flat panel antennas, which electronically steer the beam to the satellite, will enable connectivity with geostationary and non-geostationary satellites.

 

     As far as Kymeta’s aeronautical products, McCambridge said ultra-low profile aeronautical terminals that allow for rapid installation on all types of aircraft, delivering affordable broadband to private and commercial aircraft are just one of several solutions available including, mTenna Modules. "Kymeta antenna modules can be integrated into terminals as a component to form a complete solution, enabling satellite services for virtually any moving platform such as trucks, trains, buses, automobiles or vessels," McCambridge said.
 

ã?? In addition to this announcement, Kymeta’s CEO Vern Fotheringham revealed several key promotions on the company’s senior leadership team, including the appointment of Bob McCambridge as president and COO. Co-founder Nathan Kundtz was appointed as executive vice president and CTO, and John Schilling as executive vice president and CFO.
 

ã?? ã??As far as Kymeta’s financing announcement, Gullish said it was surprising to the industry. "The location of the company and the people backing it was most surprising," he added, noting that "what at jumps up to me is how fast they [Kymeta] came up to the scene. They popped up at a satellite show not too long ago and now all of a sudden they have this disrupting technology. They have some strong people, but will they ultimately be successful? That will depend on how the market reacts," Gullish added.