Like most NewSpace stocks, Astrocast’s share price has collapsed since your direct listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2021. How do you explain that fall?

We’ve suffered from the overall slow economic climate. The last two years have been tough for all tech companies on the markets. Astrocast is no exception. In 2021, we were delighted to raise the 40 million we needed to grow via a direct listing on Euronext Growth on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Then market conditions changed, and our share price fell. Another factor penalised our share price: we had planned to launch an IPO on Euronext Paris in the summer of 2022 to raise more capital. But we had to drop our plans due to the bearish stock market, and that sent a very negative signal.

Do you think your share price can bounce back?

Our valuation is currently not very strong. We can’t be satisfied with the current share price. However, we should take a step back from our valuation today and look at Astrocast’s potential. Unlike many NewSpace companies that are still in the research and development phase, we already have a constellation of 20 launched satellites, including two demonstrators and 18 commercial satellites. This makes us Switzerland’s leading and only satellite operator, and the third largest in Europe in terms of the number of active satellites. So we’re ahead of the competition, as our service has been up and running since the beginning of 2022. And I think that if we continue to implement our development plan and raise the additional funds we need, the market will eventually reward us with a valuation that reflects our true worth. So for investors, venture capitalists and dedicated funds, I think Astrocast is a great opportunity now, because we caught the wave at the right time. 

"85% of the Earth’s surface has no connectivity"

You offer a satellite communication service for the Internet of Things (IoT). How is that useful?

There is a definite need for global internet communication service. While around 80% of the world’s population lives in areas covered by cellular systems, 85% of the Earth’s surface has no connectivity. How do you provide these regions with internet service? The only answer is a connection via satellite. With Starlink, Elon Musk is offering an expensive high-speed broadband solution, which is great for watching Netflix on his yacht in the middle of the ocean. At Astrocast, we’re at the other end of the market. Via satellite, we connect objects that send small messages and only need to be online a few times a day. Our miniaturised narrowband solution is much cheaper than Starlink’s system, making it ideal for IoT applications. 

Which sectors need this type of service?

We target several industries. The first is maritime. Supply chain companies can use our device to track their containers as they move. Our main customer in this segment is the Israeli company ArrowSpot. The second industry is agrotech. More and more sensors are being implemented in agriculture and livestock to optimise the use of water, pesticide and fertiliser. But these devices need an internet connection to work. Our technology makes that possible in areas not covered by the cellular network. For example, we work with companies like Avirtech in Indonesia and Digitanimal in Spain. Other industries offering valuable opportunities include the environment (weather stations, climate change monitoring, fire detection), energy (monitoring and predictive maintenance of installations) and fishing (monitoring of boats on the high seas).

How big is your addressable market?

Broadly speaking, IoT is a huge market, and the number of connected objects is expected to explode worldwide. Most of these objects will be connected via terrestrial networks (cellular, WiFi, LoRa, Bluetooth, etc.). Satellite solutions account for only a fraction of the IoT sector, focusing primarily on sparsely populated and rural areas where connectivity is deficient or non-existent. That means we need to remain realistic and not overestimate this market. The research firm MarketsandMarkets estimates that satellite IoT could reach $2.9 billion in 2027, from $1.1 billion in 2022, which comes out to annual growth of 21.9%. But I’m always wary of projections like that, because it all depends on what is taken into account in the calculations. One thing is certain: opportunities abound.

"With each sale, we generate revenue for the long term"

Other companies, such as the US firm Iridium Communications, offer services similar to yours. How can you compete with those giants?

Unlike other operators, our service was designed for IoT from the outset, which makes it more efficient and much cheaper than the competition. The low manufacturing and launch costs of our nanosatellites keep our monthly data subscriptions at attractive prices, the key to success in IoT. Technically speaking, we operate within the L-band, i.e., the most efficient frequencies for satellite IoT. As a result, we can provide our customers with miniature antennas, which are ideal for the portable devices built into moving objects. Another essential advantage is our very low energy consumption.

And lastly, we are highly agile. We can adapt to our customers’ needs, because we cover the entire value chain. We manufacture both the nanosatellites that we operate in orbit and the electronic chips in ground equipment. We also manage the secure data platform where our customers retrieve their encrypted data from their connected objects. This gives us the opportunity to develop our infrastructure to continuously adapt to our customers’ needs and to the competition. 

You chose to go public in Oslo, Norway, rather than on the SIX. Is it a disadvantage to be a Swiss company in the space industry?

We chose Oslo mainly because of Norway’s industrial network. Norway has a lot of companies active in shipping, energy and the environment, which are all potential customers for Astrocast. Also, the Nordic markets were strong in 2021, which is why we were able to raise 40 million Swiss francs.

The main challenge as a space company in Switzerland is the lack of government support. NewSpace is investment-heavy. The respective governments participate in the industry in the United States, Canada, the European Union and Australia, which spreads out the financing and the risk. Without the support of the US government, SpaceX would never have existed! Switzerland does not fund projects like that. In fact, investors have asked us whether it would be better to transfer Astrocast’s head office to another country. We’re proud to be in Switzerland, and we want to keep this unique expertise in the region at all costs. But it’s clear that we need more local support. Otherwise, the company could quickly fall into a critical situation and end up in foreign hands.