Xona raises $170 million for satellite navigation network
Xona, a California-based startup developing a satellite navigation service, announced March 26 it raised $170 million in a Series C funding round to accelerate deployment of its low-Earth orbit constellation and expand manufacturing capacity.
The round was led by Mohari Ventures Natural Capital, with participation from Craft Ventures, ICONIQ, Woven Capital, NGP Capital, Samsung Next and Hexagon, among others. The company said the capital will support production at a new factory in Burlingame, California, as well as broader constellation buildout.
Xona is building a commercial positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) service, known as Pulsar, designed to operate as an alternative or backup to the Global Positioning System. GPS underpins navigation and timing for both military and civilian systems but has shown vulnerabilities to jamming, spoofing and disruption, particularly in contested environments.
Xona's satellites will operate in low Earth orbit, broadcasting signals that are stronger than those from GPS satellites in higher orbits. Pulsar is designed to work with existing GPS devices, a shift enabled by Xona's decision to move from C-band to L-band frequencies after determining that most users lack compatible C-band equipment.
"Compatibility with existing user equipment was critical to scaling," said Brian Manning, co-founder and chief executive.
Subscribe TodayGet unlimited access to SpaceNews.com and our digital magazine with a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription.
Discounted Access Learn more about savings available for academic, government and military readers on SpaceNews subscriptions.
Over a dozen commercial receiver partners are already tracking signals from Xona's first production-class satellite, launched in June 2025, Manning said. The company plans to launch six additional satellites on a SpaceX rideshare mission in the fourth quarter, with a broader ramp-up in deployments expected in 2027.
Xona aims to deploy a constellation of 258 satellites within a few years, which it said could be built "for the cost of a single GPS satellite on orbit today." Before the latest round, the company reported it had raised $150 million.
The startup is also moving toward vertical integration. While early satellites were built with Belgian manufacturer Aerospacelab, Manning said four of the six spacecraft scheduled for launch this year were produced by that partner, while two are the first designed and built in-house. The company expects to manufacture the remainder internally.
Alongside its California manufacturing expansion, Xona is growing its Montreal operations to tap local aerospace engineering talent and has opened a London office to support European customers. It has also established partnerships with positioning and navigation firms Furuno in Japan and Topcon.
Initial commercial demand is expected from industries requiring high-precision timing, including telecommunications, banking and data centers, which can begin using the service with a relatively small number of satellites in orbit.
The company is also targeting U.S. military users. The Space Force awarded Xona a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) agreement, combining $20 million in government funding with $30 million in private capital to support development of the constellation.
Across the U.S. military, interest in alternative PNT capabilities is increasing as reliance on GPS exposes operational risks.
"There's a very clear need," Manning said. "They're looking to diversify their PNT capabilities … and the administration is very much looking at commercial capabilities."
Investors are also betting on that demand. Jay Zaveri, founder and partner at Natural Capital and a strategic partner to Mohari Ventures, noted that GPS was designed 50 years ago "and the world has outgrown it," describing its signals as "weak, unencrypted, easily jammed."
Xona's approach, he said, reflects a shift toward commercial systems that can augment or replace legacy infrastructure as demand for resilient navigation and timing services grows.
Vielen Dank, dass Sie den Artikel gelesen haben! Beobachten Sie uns unter Google Nachrichten.
