Cailabs headquarters in France. Photo: Cailabs

French photonics technology startup Cailabs has raised 57 million euro ($67 million), led by financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to scale up production of its optical ground stations. 

The round of structured financing announced Friday combines a 37 million euro financing from the EIB and a 20 million euros in investment from. Two Bpifrance funds Definvest and Fonds Innovation Defense participated, as well as NewSpace Capital, the European Innovation Council (EIC) fund, Starquest Capital, and CAIVE.

Cailabs designs, manufactures, and develops photonic solutions for the space, industry, telecommunications, and defense sectors. It builds optical ground stations. Earlier this year, a Cailabs optical ground station was used in a space-to-ground optical data relay demonstration with a Kepler Communications satellite. The company has more than 10 optical ground stations (OGS) under contract, including for Swedish Space Corporation and Contec. 

With this funding, Cailabs plans to scale up production of optical ground stations and grow its product portfolio. It plans to advance its product portfolio to offer 100+ Gbps solutions, transportable optical ground stations, and options for more orbits. 

“This funding round reflects our solid fundamentals and the confidence investors have in our strategic vision. It enables us to scale up industrial capabilities and prepare for the next stage of growth” said Cailabs co-founder and CEO Jean-François Morizur. 

The company recently established a new industrial platform that it says can assemble and validate up to five optical ground stations in parallel. 

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said the financing is aligned with its strategic priorities to support security, defense, and technological innovation. “Space technologies are increasingly important for civilian use as well as for security and defense applications. As the bank of the European Union, the EIB supports Cailabs’ investments in manufacturing capabilities and in research & development of its laser communication technologies,” Fayolle said in a release.