This company secured over 10 million yuan in angel round financing after achieving the delivery of the "general-purpose equipment" for satellite internet | Exclusive report from Hardcore Krypton

Author | Qiao Yujie

Editor | Yuan Silai

Yingke has learned that Elephant Control Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. recently completed an angel - round financing of over ten million yuan, exclusively invested by Liuhe Venture Capital. We have summarized the information of this round of financing and several highlights of the company:

Financing Situation

Financing Round: Angel Round

Financing Amount: Over Ten Million Yuan

Investment Institution: Liuhe Venture Capital

Fund Usage: Increase R & D efforts, advance the R & D process, and expand the scale of the R & D team

Basic Company Information

Establishment Time: 2024

Headquarters Address: Pudong, Shanghai

Technological Highlights: The company's core products focus on the fields of low - orbit satellite communication, 5G/6G, and dedicated communication, covering key product forms such as scientific research - level prototype verification equipment, high - performance general channel simulators, and phased - array terminals.

Among them, the company focuses on the layout of simulation, verification, and prototype systems for the research and development of the underlying technologies of satellite Internet, providing engineering verification capabilities for communication systems and system architectures. In the aspect of user terminals, the company chooses the digital phased - array technology route with higher technical thresholds and greater long - term evolution space, which is more suitable for the large - scale application and system upgrade needs of the future satellite Internet.

Market Analysis

Against the background of the global upgrade of digital infrastructure and the acceleration of 6G cutting - edge research, the satellite Internet is evolving from the traditional dedicated communication system to a direction of deep integration with terrestrial mobile communication. Low - orbit satellites, with their low latency, high capacity, and global coverage capabilities, are becoming an important part of the future three - dimensional communication network.

From the perspective of the industrial rhythm, the construction of low - orbit satellite constellations is accelerating, but the relevant communication technologies and systems are still in a stage of rapid evolution, and the demand for simulation verification, prototype testing, and key equipment continues to grow. Especially in key technical fields such as high - speed dynamic channels and phased - array terminals, engineering verification has become a prerequisite for technology implementation. Thus, high - end communication R & D equipment and system solutions for the integration of satellite Internet and 6G are gradually forming a niche market with long - term value.

(Image Source/Enterprise)

Team Background

The company's founder, Liu Jinlong, graduated with a master's degree from the School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He has worked in foreign - funded enterprises for nearly 20 years and has focused on the R & D and business development in the commercial space field for many years. He has solid scientific research capabilities and project management experience. More than 90% of the team are scientific research personnel. The core technical backbones have an average of more than ten years of industry experience, with the ability to explore the technological frontier, design complex system architectures, and develop engineering products. The team started the verification work of key technologies of the domestic satellite Internet early and has formed a complete technical framework and know - how accumulation.

Founder's Thoughts

Yingke: What new challenges does the integration of "satellite Internet + 6G" pose to the design of communication systems?

Liu Jinlong: Previously, 2G, 3G, and 4G were always within the framework of terrestrial mobile communication networks. The transition from 5G to 6G is essentially a leap from planar communication to a three - dimensional communication network - the communication system needs to achieve integrated coverage of the air, space, land, and sea. In this system, communication nodes are no longer located in ground base stations five or six hundred meters away from users, but on low - orbit satellites orbiting five hundred to one thousand kilometers above the ground. This change brings many new technical challenges at the system level.

First, the relatively "diffuse scattering" coverage method in ground communication is no longer applicable. High - precision pointing and beam control need to be achieved between satellites and terminals to improve link efficiency and communication rate, which makes phased - array antennas a key technical foundation. Second, the communication system needs to be re - constructed. The communication systems previously designed for short - distance and low - dynamic scenarios on the ground are difficult to adapt to the characteristics of high - speed satellite movement and rapid link changes. Both the underlying communication technology and system architecture need to be adjusted. Third, the wireless channel environment has changed significantly. Low - orbit satellite communication needs wireless channel technologies suitable for space dynamic scenarios.

Yingke: What does the company's current product system include? Where does the core competitiveness mainly lie?

Liu Jinlong: From the perspective of system architecture, the satellite Internet can be mainly divided into two major parts: the space segment and the user segment. Our product layout also revolves around these two directions. In the space segment, we mainly provide R & D verification and simulation equipment to support the development and system verification of the underlying communication technologies of the satellite Internet. This type of equipment mainly serves satellite network operators and scientific research institutions. Currently, laboratory - level verification equipment for satellite Internet communication R & D is still very scarce in China, and its role is more like the "machine tool" in the communication field.

In the user segment, we focus on the layout of phased - array terminal products. Different from many products in China that still remain at the analog phased - array stage, the digital phased - array terminals we are researching and developing are a newer generation of technology, with greater potential in terms of beam control accuracy and flexibility. Of course, this also requires innovative technologies in the digital field to support.

Yingke: How is the current delivery situation of the products? What is the biggest technical challenge encountered in the R & D process?

Liu Jinlong: The company started to promote the R & D of core products since its establishment. Currently, the phased - array terminals are still in the R & D stage and have not entered large - scale sales. However, the simulation and verification equipment for satellite communication R & D has begun to be delivered to satellite engineering units and university laboratories.

At the technical level, the biggest challenge lies in the lack of mature precedents for reference. The integration of satellite Internet and ground communication is a forming technical path, and many key issues need to be judged during the exploration process. On the other hand, forward - looking judgment of technological trends is particularly crucial. It will be too late to start the R & D of relevant equipment and systems once the industrial demand is clear. We predicted early that the future satellite Internet will introduce a communication technology system similar to terrestrial 5G, so we also started the work of technological exploration and accumulation relatively early.

Investor's View

Liuhe Venture Capital: We highly recognize the Elephant Control Technology team's in - depth industry insight, solid technical accumulation, and excellent productization ability. The field of satellite Internet and 6G integration that the company focuses on is a key direction for building the future full - domain coverage communication infrastructure, with significant value. Elephant Control Technology has established business cooperation with several leading customers, and its technology and productization ability have been successfully verified by the market.