Google Spinout Aalyria Raises $100M at $1.3B Valuation to Build the Software Layer Connecting Any Satellite
Aalyria, the startup spun out of Google in 2022, has raised $100 million in fresh funding at a valuation of $1.3 billion. The round was led by Battery Ventures, with participation from J2 Ventures and DYNE. Google is retaining a stake in the company.
The timing is no accident. As U.S. government spending on national security satellites surges and the Trump administration races to outpace China in space, the demand for reliable, vendor-agnostic satellite network software has never been higher.
What Does Aalyria Actually Do?
Aalyria makes two products:
- Spacetime — software that acts as an operating system for satellite networks. It automatically routes traffic between different satellite constellations and platforms, fills coverage gaps when satellites are degraded, and federates networks that were previously incompatible. Think of it as the software glue that makes competing satellite systems work together seamlessly.
- Tightbeam — a laser-communication hardware system that can be mounted on ships, aircraft, or ground stations to transmit data at fiber-internet speeds over distances of 100+ kilometers.
The Starlink Problem
SpaceX's Starlink has been wildly successful — snapping up government contracts and gaining mass consumer adoption, particularly in underserved areas. But that success has created a strategic problem for the U.S. and its allies: dangerous dependence on a single private provider.
When SpaceX briefly turned off Starlink over Crimea during Russia's war on Ukraine, the implications were stark. The U.S. and European governments began urgently seeking alternatives.
"They love Starlink but want alternatives, too," said Michael Brown, general partner at Battery Ventures. "When you have a diversity of satellite platforms, including in lower and mid-earth orbit, the ability to route traffic between them has been nearly impossible. But they provide a seamless networking layer."
That's the gap Aalyria fills — and that fear of dependence is what's driving the $1.3 billion valuation.
Who's Already Paying?
Aalyria has already locked in significant contracts and research funding from:
- U.S. Air Force
- NASA
- Defense Innovation Unit (DoD)
- European Space Agency
- Telesat (for its Lightspeed constellation)
The company also has real-world disaster response capabilities — when natural disasters take out ground-based cell towers, Aalyria's Spacetime can reroute a satellite network to cover the affected area within seconds.
Where Did This Technology Come From?
The origin story is a classic Silicon Valley pivot. The technology behind Spacetime was developed inside Google as part of Project Loon — Alphabet's ambitious initiative to beam internet to underserved communities using high-altitude balloons. Alphabet wound down Project Loon in 2021.
Rather than let the technology disappear, the founding team — led by CTO Brian Barritt (ex-Google, Cisco, NASA) and CEO Chris Taylor (national security veteran) — acquired the technology and spun it out as Aalyria in 2022. The Tightbeam laser communication technology has roots even further back, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
What's Next
With the fresh $100M, Aalyria plans to:
- Grow its ~90-person team by at least a third over the next year
- Get its first constellations launched and operating in space
- Expand commercial and government customer opportunities
- Invest in product, engineering, and customer support
The company is headquartered in Livermore, California, with offices in Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, and London.
Bottom Line
Everyone loves Starlink. Governments are terrified of depending on it. That fear — and the very real strategic need for multi-provider, interoperable satellite infrastructure — is exactly the business case Aalyria is building on. At $1.3 billion, investors are betting that the software layer connecting all these constellations together is worth a lot more than anyone priced in when Google quietly shuttered Project Loon.