February 28, 2021
The company, which develops chips for satellite communications, will raise NIS 325 million in the IPO. Its revenue in 2019: $ 30 million. Stickspay is expected to sign tens of millions of dollars agreement with LEO satellite operator
Yoel Gat’s SatixFy company, which founded Gilat Satellite Communications, enters the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The company from the Science Park in Rehovot, which develops chips for satellite communications systems, will raise NIS 325 million in the initial public offering, at an expected company value of NIS 1.4 billion. The company noted that the funds raised will be used primarily to fund continued R&D and deepen penetration into the company’s main target market in the United States.
According to the prospectus it submitted to the stock exchange, Stickspay’s revenues in 2019 grew by 50% to about $ 30 million and its current backlog stands at about $ 17.5 million. In 2020, affected by the corona plague, revenue in the first half of the year totaled $ 5.5 million and is expected to be similar to the second half of the year. However, StockSpy expects continued growth against the backdrop of increasing use of low-orbit satellites (LEO) and the development of areas such as IoT, civilian aircraft connectivity (IFC), in-flight satellite communications, machine-to-machine communications and more.
In addition, Stickspay revealed today that it is in advanced negotiations with one of the operators of LEO satellite systems for the sale of communications terminals for the terrestrial sector. The company estimates that the agreement is expected to be signed during the first half of 2021 and its scope is estimated at about $ 30 million.
Collaboration with Airbus
The company was founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneur Yoel Gat, who previously founded and managed the Gilat company, which specializes in the development of satellite communication systems. Since its inception, the company has raised about $ 40 million and has so far received over $ 60 million in grants from the European Space Agency. Among Stickspay’s customers, Airbus, which co-finances the development of one of the company’s advanced chips designed to document satellite communications. Stickspay has a partnership agreement with STE Global in the field of commercial aviation.
Stickspay develops silicon-based communication chips, which connect different devices on the ground and the satellite, and fromSignificantly reduce the cost, size, weight and power consumption of user terminals as well as the airtime costs of satellites. The company’s chips use frequencies from the Ka range, ie 30GHz in the uplink channel and 20GHz in the downlink channel. The use of these frequencies enabled broadband satellite communications with higher data transfer rates and capacities compared to standard satellites.
The Low Satellite Revolution
Against the background of the expected launch of thousands of LEO satellites in the coming years, there is an urgent need for electronic scanning antennas so that continuous and high quality communication can be ensured in the transition from one satellite to another. As part of a project characterized by the company, managed and funded by the European Space Agency, Stickspay has developed a unique electronic scanning antenna that will provide a solution for managing a large number of transmission and reception beams of any size. Stickspay is developing such a solution for OneWeb, which is setting up a global LEO satellite communications network that will provide connectivity services to governments, businesses and communities around the world. These developments are designed for the next generation of caller IDs and end-user equipment.
The transition of civil aviation to the use of the new LEO satellite resources will provide an advantage to the transition to the use of electronic scanning antennas. The current use of mechanical antennas is almost impossible in a network operated by LEO satellites. The electronically scanned antennas developed by Stickspay allow the simultaneous use of LEO satellites and standard satellites.
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