A new startup Endeavor Optical Networks emerged from stealth on Tuesday, with a plan to build an optical satellite network in Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) for space-based data transfer.
The company was founded by CEO Charlie Horowitz, an early employee of Apex Space and CTO Tyler Presser, formerly of Advanced Space. They hired former Google network executive Michael David Francois as head of growth.
General Catalyst and a16z co-led a $10.75 million seed round, which also included participation from Main Object, XYZ, and UpFront.
Endeavor Optical Networks aims to build a satellite network to serve as an alternative to undersea internet cables, targeting content delivery networks (CDNs), hyperscalers, telecom operators, and AI labs as customers. The company said it plans to price to compete directly with subsea fiber, particularly on long-haul intercontinental routes.
It describes its architecture as an “optical bent pipe,” where data is transmitted from a ground station via laser to a MEO satellite, then directly to a ground station on the other side of the ocean, without inter-satellite links. The company is targeting speeds of about 2.4 terabits per second.
“The internet’s most critical infrastructure still runs through thousands of miles of vulnerable cable on the ocean floor, a system never designed for what we are now asking of it. We believe Charlie and Tyler combine the technical depth, operational credibility, and ambition needed to build what is required next,” commented Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, president and managing director of General Catalyst.
