Kenyan-Founded Satlyt Raises USD 8 M To Build AI Computing Software For Satellites

Satlyt, a Kenyan-founded space technology startup building software for AI computing on satellites, has raised an USD 8 M seed round led by Houston-based Non Sibi Ventures.

The company was co-founded by Kenyan American engineer Rama Afullo, a former Google cloud computing engineer and SpaceX Starlink employee, and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with operations in Nairobi, Kenya.

Founded in 2024, Satlyt develops software that enables satellites to run AI models and share computing workloads without requiring operators to build their own orbital data centres.

Its software has already flown on two demonstration missions, including one that deployed Google DeepMind’s Gemma model onboard a Momentus spacecraft. Satlyt plans to use the technology to create a shared computing network spanning multiple satellites, with a target of being deployed on 20% of satellites by 2030.