Bill Gates is boosting his bet on next-generation satellite broadband technology, leading a new $85 million funding round for Kymeta as the Redmond, Wash., company prepares to launch a new hybrid satellite-cellular antenna and mobile internet service for government and industry use.

The Microsoft co-founder has been Kymeta’s lead investor since its launch in 2012 as an outgrowth of brainstorming sessions with former Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold and a crew of inventors.

The investment will be used to help fund the manufacturing, launch and further product and market development of Kymeta’s u8 flat-panel beam-steering antenna and the associated Kymeta Connect satellite and cellular internet service, said Walter Berger, Kymeta’s president and COO, in an interview with GeekWire.

Walter Berger, Kymeta president and chief operating officer. (Kymeta Photo)

Berger said the additional investment by Gates reflects a “continued high degree of interest and support” from the Microsoft co-founder’s private investment arm.

“They have a vision for where this product should be, and what it can be, and they want to continue to see that to this next stage,” he said.

News of the funding comes a week after Kymeta announced its acquisition of Lepton Global Solutions, a satellite communications service provider, for undisclosed terms.

Kymeta is one of a series of companies spun out of Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures based on “metamaterials,” specially engineered substances not found in nature. Kymeta uses metamaterials to “steer” its antennas electronically to find a signal, without the moving parts in traditional satellite dishes.

Gates is one of several prominent tech figures leading or backing different types of satellite internet initiatives, seeking to expand broadband connectivity in a variety of commercial and philanthropic pursuits.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is building its Starlink broadband satellite constellation up the road from Kymeta in Redmond. Amazon’s Project Kuiper, another example, recently received FCC approval for its planned constellation of 3,236 satellites to provide internet connectivity around the globe.

In a news release, Kymeta said the company was recapitalized along with the new funding. Berger said some members of Kymeta’s leadership team also invested in the new round. The privately held company declined to provide additional details on the recapitalization or its resulting valuation.

Venture capital database Pitchbook showed the company raising a total of $197.5 million, prior to the new funding round, but Kymeta isn’t confirming that number or commenting on its total funding to date.

Kymeta u8 antenna
Kymetra’s u8 flat-panel antenna is made for use with satellite and cellular connectivity services. (Kymeta Photo)

The company raised $73.5 million in 2017, its last reported investment round.

Kymeta has just under 200 employees, Berger said, with headquarters in Redmond and a new office in Virginia that came as a result of the Lepton Global acquisition.

Nathan Kundtz, the company’s founder and past CEO, left his role at Kymeta in 2018. Berger, an executive with experience in areas including application technology, cloud computing and medical devices, joined the company in May of 2019 along with executive chairman Doug Hutcheson, the former Leap Wireless CEO.

After the completion of alpha testing, Kymeta is launching a beta test of its satellite broadband offerings this week, with the official launch slated for the fourth quarter, Berger said.

The company is planning to market the u8 antenna and broadband service to government organizations such as the Department of Defense, as well as first-responders, before expanding to other verticals, Berger said. Subscription rates for the Kymeta Connect service are expected to start at $999 per month for 1 gigabyte of data.

Prior generations of Kymeta’s satellite technology have been used in maritime, railroad, and other transportation settings, and Berger said those will continue to be represent applications for the company’s products.

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