Published on 6/23/2026
The Chinese company SpaceCell, the Chinese competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink network, has launched a new financing round aimed at accelerating its plans to expand the satellite network and enhance its presence in global markets.
The Chinese Securities Times newspaper reported that the new round will give new investors a share not exceeding 20% of SpaceCell shares, with the number of new investors limited to three, with current shareholders participating in the capital increase.
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The proceeds from the financing round will be used to build the satellite constellation, finance research and development activities, and expand into foreign markets, in addition to covering operating expenses.
SpaceCell, supported by the Shanghai government, is receiving increasing attention as the most prominent Chinese project to compete with Starlink in the low-orbit satellite Internet market.
The Chinese company seeks to deploy up to 15,000 satellites in low Earth orbit by 2030, and has already succeeded in signing foreign contracts in markets such as Brazil, as part of its international expansion plans.
The Chinese move comes at a time when the satellite Internet sector is witnessing accelerating competition, with countries and major companies seeking to build satellite networks that provide Internet services globally and support communications, defense, and digital economy applications.
Technical developments
SpaceCell’s ambition is not limited to the numerical expansion of satellites, as the company recently achieved a technical achievement by making direct voice calls via satellites using ordinary commercial smartphones without the need for any modifications to the hardware or software.
The company said that the experiment, which is the first of its kind in China, showed complete stability in communication and voice quality similar to terrestrial fifth generation networks, which enhances the opportunities for integrating satellite communications services with traditional mobile phone networks.
This development comes after China launched earlier this June the “SpaceCell DTC 01” satellite, which is designed to test direct communication technologies for mobile phones and integrated satellite-terrestrial communications networks, in a way that supports fifth and sixth generation communications applications.
As of June 5, the number of satellites operating within the “SpaceSEAL” constellation reached about 200, as part of the company’s plan to deploy about 15,000 satellites by 2030.
Starlink competition
The new financing round coincided with the success of SpaceX, which owns Starlink, in implementing the largest initial public offering in history, after raising about $85.7 billion by listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Observers believe that accelerating SpaceCell’s financing reflects China’s desire to reduce the gap with Starlink, which currently owns the largest Internet satellite network in the world and has a wide presence in dozens of countries.
