Geely's space subsidiary, Geespace, has secured a substantial $281 million investment to accelerate the deployment of its Geesatcom Internet of Things (IoT) constellation and establish a new global headquarters. This significant funding comes from Zhejiang Financial Holdings Investment Co., Ltd., Hangzhou State-owned Capital Investment and Operation Co., Ltd., Hangzhou High-Tech Jintou Holding Group Co., Ltd., and the Zhejiang New Energy Vehicle Industry Fund.
Geespace currently operates a 52-satellite constellation, with plans to complete the first phase of 64 satellites this year. Recent launches using Jielong-3 rockets have added to the network, and Geesatcom services are already operational in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America. The company boasts partnerships with over 20 national operators, including Azyan Telecom (Oman), ATSS (Saudi Arabia), Soremar (Morocco), ALTEL (Malaysia), and Orbith (Argentina).
The Geesatcom constellation targets various sectors, including intelligent connected vehicles, marine fisheries, construction, emergency communications, transportation, public infrastructure, energy management, and agriculture. Beyond IoT, Geespace aims to offer broadband connectivity via a larger constellation and enhanced precision navigation signals for autonomous driving.
This significant investment reflects strong support from Zhejiang province, Hangzhou municipality, and the Binjiang district governments, aligning with China's strategic focus on the commercial space sector. The involvement of the Zhejiang fund, also linked to electric vehicles, blurs lines between private and state-backed initiatives, potentially representing an effort to integrate emerging technologies. This ambitious undertaking signals China's determination to compete internationally with companies like SpaceX’s Starlink.