NeuralSat raises €2.9M for 72-sat orbital data relay network

On November 12, 2026, NeuralSat said it had raised a €2.9M ($3.2M) pre-seed round for a 72-sat network that relays and processes information in orbit, with the goal of speeding data between space and Earth. The company calls the network an answer to growth in traffic moving through orbit.

Payload reported the funding on the day it was announced, describing the round as backing for orbital infrastructure that moves data between spacecraft. NeuralSat made the disclosure in the same publication cycle as the Payload report.

The constellation will use optical and high-frequency radio links, aiming for speeds reaching as much as 50 gigabits per second. NeuralSat attaches that 50-gigabit speed target to its data relay network.

A separate distributed computing network will let satellite operators share processing power on orbit. NeuralSat lists this as the second core capability for the constellation, intended to work alongside the relay function.

The company also plans hosted-payload capabilities so customers can place their own equipment aboard NeuralSat satellites. NeuralSat mentions hosted payloads after laying out the two core network capabilities in its announcement.

Operators can send data to NeuralSat nodes for processing and then downlink through available ground stations instead of managing everything aboard their own spacecraft. NeuralSat describes this trade-off as surrendering self-sufficiency in exchange for more space and power on customer spacecraft. The company says that freed capacity can support the primary instruments aboard partner satellites.

The fresh capital will pay for a flight demonstration in orbit during 2027 intended to check the central elements of NeuralSat’s planned relay and processing architecture. The company sees the flight as proof of the core technology before operational satellites launch.

Following the 2027 demonstration, the company plans to begin fielding its first operational satellites in 2028. NeuralSat plans to launch its own spacecraft after the demonstration proves the technology works.

ESA puts the satellite count at roughly 100,000 by 2030, compared with 10,200 in 2024. Those figures add to pressure on routes carrying data to Earth. The source cites this growth to explain increasing strain on data downlinks. NeuralSat points to that market picture as a reason to build an in-space relay network.

NeuralSat concentrates on data already being gathered and distributed in space today. NeuralSat says its focus is information already being created and moved in space. NeuralSat distinguishes itself from ventures proposing orbital data centers as replacements for ground facilities. The startup is not offering orbital data centers as substitutes for terrestrial facilities.

The pre-seed round was led by Capnamic Ventures and Bayern Kapital. Additional investors included ZOHO.VC, Robin Capital, KIEMIS Holding, and Mission E Capital. NeuralSat disclosed its incubation memberships in the same announcement that named the backers.

NeuralSat is a German startup belonging to ESA’s Business Incubation Center and the NVIDIA Inception Program. The company disclosed both affiliations in the funding announcement, grouping them with the backers and the network plan.

Mohd Bilal, the chief executive, said the coming shift in space hinges on tying satellites to shared networks for communication, computing, and joint operations. Bilal’s statement came with the funding announcement and presented shared infrastructure as a significant change in how space operations work. He drew a parallel between the planned shift and the way the internet remade Earth-based computing. “connecting satellites to shared infrastructure that enables them to communicate, access computing resources, and operate together.”