What Happened
China Backs Domestic Satellite Internet With Record Funding
Chinese satellite internet company SpaceSail has raised $1 billion in funding to accelerate the buildout of its low-Earth-orbit network, designed to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink project. With 238 Qianfan satellites currently in operation, SpaceSail remains far behind Starlink, which operates over 10,000 satellites and serves 12 million subscribers. The funding round, which included state-backed investor Shanghai Alliance Investment, brings SpaceSail’s valuation to around $7.2 billion. This development was first reported by the South China Morning Post.