The first Bluetooth satellite has been launched. "BlueLink StarCom" completed two rounds of financing within half a year, with a cumulative amount of tens of millions of yuan | Exclusive from 36Kr

Text | Liu Jingqiong

Editor | A Zhi

Cover Source | Provided by the enterprise

36Kr learned that Beijing Lanling Xingtong Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Lanling Xingtong"), a service provider of Bluetooth satellite technology systems, recently announced the completion of an Angel ++ round of financing. This round was exclusively invested by Tusstar Venture Capital, and the funds raised will be used for the development of mass - produced satellites and the procurement of components.

At the end of March this year, 36Kr reported that Lanling Xingtong completed an Angel + round of financing of tens of millions of yuan, led by Lingge Venture Capital and followed by Hongfu Assets. Within half a year, Lanling Xingtong completed two rounds of financing, with a cumulative amount of tens of millions of yuan.

Bluetooth satellite constellation planning

Lanling Xingtong was established in October 2023. It is currently the only team in China and one of the two in the world that has mastered the Bluetooth direct - to - satellite technology. It has the ability to design the overall satellite constellation and the whole satellite in the whole process, as well as the ability to independently design and develop payloads. By independently manufacturing and launching satellites to form a network, it can achieve a transit service capacity within minutes and is committed to providing low - cost and low - power Bluetooth direct - to - satellite services for mass consumers. According to Cai Lingfeng, the founder and general manager, the company recently completed the launch of its first Bluetooth satellite.

The US - based Hubble Network is Lanling Xingtong's only comparable enterprise globally. In Cai Lingfeng's view, there are differences between the two in terms of technical solutions and application scenarios. In terms of technical solutions, Lanling Xingtong's communication machine uses the on - board base station parallel computing technology architecture, which greatly improves the throughput capacity. Through optimized design, the data reception sensitivity of its satellite terminals can reach above - 130dbm, and the ability to capture signals is further enhanced compared with traditional terminals. Currently, Lanling Xingtong is carrying out the optimized design of flexible and foldable antennas and the design of flat - panel satellites to make technical preparations for large - scale deployment in the future.

In terms of application scenarios, "The ground network in the United States is not well - developed. Hubble Network targets To B scenarios such as port logistics tracking and To C scenarios such as pet tracking, while Lanling Xingtong's early basic customers are mainly institutions in the monitoring and supervision fields of national key infrastructure construction." According to Wang Jiawei, the co - founder, currently Lanling Xingtong has established several Bluetooth satellite terminal demonstration sites in western regions such as Tibet and Qinghai, providing customers with regular monitoring data transmission services for scenarios such as weather monitoring, highway diseases, permafrost settlement, and wildlife protection. At the request of some customers, Lanling Xingtong also provides data pre - processing services based on edge - side AI.

Initially, Lanling Xingtong focused on firmware OTA upgrades for intelligent terminals, enabling terminal devices with Bluetooth functions to directly connect to Bluetooth satellites through firmware upgrades. At the same time, Lanling Xingtong also launched miniaturized satellite terminals for vertical monitoring scenarios, ensuring that both existing traditional scenarios and new incremental application scenarios have the opportunity for terminal direct - to - satellite connection. Cai Lingfeng said, "In the early stage, Lanling Xingtong mainly provides customers with a complete set of solutions and will not sell terminals separately for the time being. Terminals are just a means to meet customers' needs and solve their current problems."

According to Lanling Xingtong's statistical criteria, all devices with the ability to directly connect to Bluetooth satellites are counted as one node, including new terminals deployed for customers and old terminals with upgraded Bluetooth functions. The number of Bluetooth nodes currently deployed by Lanling Xingtong has increased 20 times compared with when it was established. By the end of next year, the number of nodes is expected to reach about 200,000. The number of nodes is the foundation for Lanling Xingtong to achieve large - scale commercialization. "We don't rely on selling terminals to obtain one - time income, but on charging continuous rental fees based on the number of nodes. The more nodes there are, the more rental income there will be each year. "

In the second half of this year, Lanling Xingtong will continue to launch Bluetooth networking satellites and has also started a new round of financing.