Space42: New Giant in the Global Space Tech Landscape Emerges from UAE
Abu Dhabi, UAE - October 1, 2023: The space technology and geospatial intelligence sectors saw a significant shift as Yahsat, an Emirati satellite operator, and Bayanat, a geospatial artificial intelligence provider, completed their merger to form Space42. Valued at approximately $3 billion, the new company debuted on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
On its first trading day, Space42's shares showed initial growth before stabilising at 2.38 dirhams.
Space42 is helmed by Karim Sabbagh, a former CEO of SES, a multi-orbit satellite operator. Sabbagh indicated that the company’s mission is to enhance existing capabilities and scale them to meet the increasing demand for hybrid connectivity and geospatial services, particularly for autonomous vehicles and emerging technologies.
"We're not reinventing the wheel," Sabbagh explained in an interview, "we're simply taking what we are good at today and thinking about scaling it up."
The merger has combined the strengths of more than 700 employees spread across over 150 countries. Approximately two-thirds of these employees are from the legacy Yahsat business, which will now function as a division known as Space Services under Space42. This division will be led by former Yahsat CEO Ali Al Hashemi and will manage Space42’s upstream fixed and mobility satellite operations and services.
Currently, Space42 operates a fleet of five geostationary satellites dedicated to communications and broadcast services. Future plans include the launch of three more satellites from Airbus: Thuraya 4, set for a November launch to support L-band mobile connectivity, and Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5, broadband satellites scheduled to launch in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
A significant commitment from the UAE government will see it purchasing $5.1 billion worth of broadband services from Space42 until at least 2043, predominantly from the upcoming Al Yah satellites.
Additionally, Space42 has commissioned two low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites from Airbus as part of a still-confidential multi-orbit strategy.
The newly formed company will also integrate a second business unit, Smart Solutions, overseen by former Bayanat managing director Hasan Al Hosani. This unit will focus on data generation and processing through the gIQ AI-driven intelligence platform.
Space42's formation benefits from backing by the UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, which was already invested in both Yahsat and Bayanat’s parent company, G42. Prior collaboration between Yahsat and Bayanat included ordering seven UAE-focused synthetic aperture radar satellites from Finland’s Iceye. In August, Iceye confirmed that SpaceX had successfully deployed the first spacecraft from this partnership.
Sabbagh believes merging Yahsat and Bayanat into Space42 will facilitate the development and delivery of integrated satellite communications and geospatial services.
“Hybrid satcom and geospatial data will be crucial for autonomous vehicles in both commercial and governmental applications," he said. “Although there will continue to be unique applications for satcom and geospatial, their intersection will grow, and we aim to be well-positioned for this overlap.”
Sabbagh pointed out several shared elements in the design of communications and geospatial spacecraft, suggesting it won't be necessary to reinvent the supply chain between these domains. He also noted that leveraging AI across these fields will be easier when they are developed holistically.
“AI’s contribution to analysing the expanding volume of geospatial data has recently gained traction,” Sabbagh stated. “Its potential to enhance network optimisation, predictive maintenance, and interference management within the satcom sector is also beginning to emerge.”
He clarified that AI-powered integration of satcom and geospatial data is still in its early stages. “It’s still nascent. This is not mainstream yet, but it is growing particularly due to the emerging use cases.”
Further details about Space42’s growth strategy are expected later this year, following its first board meeting as a combined entity.
Source: Noah Wire Services