Balnord, an investor in frontier innovation, led the €2.8 million ($3.17 million) venture investment round for Lithuanian optical space communications startup Astrolight.
The company aims to vertically integrate its tools and provide optical communication as a service by designing and manufacturing a variety of optical communications technologies for satellites, including ground terminals.
In a statement, Astrolight CEO and co-founder Laurynas Mačiulis said, “Although the number of satellites and constellations is increasing rapidly, there is still no scalable, secure method to reliably bring that data back to Earth.” We’re bridging that gap with laser communication.
Mačiulis, the former founder and chief technical officer of Kongsberg Nanoavionics, created Astrolight in 2019 alongside Martynas Milaševičius and Andrius Stankevičius of Vilnius Tech University, Julijanas Želudevičius of the Lithuanian Center for Physical Sciences and technical, and others.
Humanity need a communication system that can expand over vast geographic regions. The fastest, most effective, highest-spectrum, and safest approach is optical,” Mačiulis told DCD.
Based on its current ATLAS-1 modular design, the business plans to create an optical ground station and showcase hybrid space-to-ground and space-to-space optical communications in the future.
Mačiulis, the former founder and chief technical officer of Kongsberg Nanoavionics, created Astrolight in 2019 alongside Martynas Milaševičius and Andrius Stankevičius of Vilnius Tech University, Julijanas Želudevičius of the Lithuanian Center for Physical Sciences and technical, and others.
Humanity need a communication system that can expand over vast geographic regions. The fastest, most effective, highest-spectrum, and safest approach is optical,” Mačiulis told DCD.
Based on its current ATLAS-1 modular design, the business plans to create an optical ground station and showcase hybrid space-to-ground and space-to-space optical communications in the future.
Dalius Petrulionis, chief technology officer of Astrolight, told EU-Startups, “We use radio frequencies now, but the RF spectrum is limited, with only about 20 percent of space-generated data retrievable.” “The ability to scale bandwidth is the most significant benefit of laser links, which also provide superior security and higher data rates.”
Astrolight contends that it can have both its cake and its eat in terms of technological propriety, despite their comments regarding vertical integration. They emphasize that their goal is to integrate as a “complementary infrastructure layer” that offers a high standard of interoperability with other technologies, rather than to compete with other constellations or networks.
“Satellites operators can have access to cost-effective, scalable communications solutions by designing internally for efficient transmission from one link in the chain to another,” Mačiulis stated.
A step toward the independence of Europe
In order to strengthen its ties to the Nordic region and invest in safe laser communications technology in the Arctic Circle, Astrolight established a Danish subsidiary earlier in 2025, attracting Danish investors.
“We think that their skilled team has created a genuinely revolutionary optical communication technique that is crucial to resolving the quickly impending space data bottleneck. According to Jarek Pilarczyk, operating partner at Luxembourg-based Balnord, “their fast, jam-resistant solutions are not only essential for the expanding satellite market, but they also embody the kind of cutting-edge innovation that will define the next generation of space infrastructure.”
The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, Coinvest Capital, and previous investors 3NGLS and Rita Sakus joined Balnord’s lead in the investment round.
Additionally, Astrolight has been chosen to participate in NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) initiative, which focuses on creating disruptive, dual-purpose technologies that are beneficial to the defense sector.
The firm already has commercial agreements with CAILABS, the Lithuanian Navy, and the European Space Agency. It has participated in accelerator programs like Seraphim Space and CASSINI.
In a statement, Marcin P. Kowalik, general partner at Balnord, said, “Astrolight is the kind of strategic investment that Europe needs – leveraging our region’s technical excellence to build sovereign capabilities in critical infrastructure.” “The development of secure communication technologies in the Baltic Sea Region will be essential for Europe’s technological independence as well as for commercial success.”