Illustration of Swissto12 HummingSat satellite in geostationary orbit for Inmarsat-8. Photo: Swissto12

Swissto12’s HummingSat small Geostationary Orbit (GEO) program has secured 73 million euro ($84.8 million) in financial support from European Space Agency (ESA) member states to accelerate development. 

The additional ESA funding comes through the Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) HummingSat Partnership Project, within ESA Connectivity and Secure Communications. It was backed at the 2025 Ministerial Conference by pledges from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, and associate member Canada. 

HummingSat is developed by Swissto12 in partnership with ESA. The first is set to launch in 2027 for customer SES. The company is also building three satellites for Viasat. 

Swissto12 said this funding will support the development and industrialization of HummingSat, as well as scaling up its manufacturing capacity and developing new products. It will also allow the company to further develop its phased-array antenna technologies to be used onboard satellite payloads and ground products such as user terminals.

The company also reported securing nearly 100 million euros ($117 million) from private investors in the second half of 2025. 

“The recent subscriptions of member states and the latest round of funding from European private investors sends a strong message to the global market that SWISSto12 is at the heart of satellite communications innovation. We provide a credible answer to some of the most pressing challenges facing the space economy, including the critical issue of enabling satellite sovereignty,” commented Swissto12 CEO Emile de Rijk.