Astrolight

About Astrolight

Astrolight UAB is a Lithuanian deep-tech company founded in 2019 that specializes in high-speed, secure laser communication systems for space and defense applications. The company was established by Laurynas Mačiulis, who serves as CEO, along with co-founders Julijanas Želudevičius, Dalius Petrulionis (CTO), Martynas Milaševičius, and Andrius Stankevičius, bringing together expertise from Kongsberg Nanoavionics, Lithuania's Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), Light Conversion, and Vilnius Tech University. Astrolight aims to create an "optical backbone for space" to address the data bottleneck created by the increasing number of satellites and the limitations of traditional radio frequency (RF) communications.

The company develops fully vertically integrated, dual-use optical communication hardware for space-to-ground, space-to-space, and terrestrial links, serving both commercial and military clients. Its primary product line includes the ATLAS series of laser communication terminals for satellites and portable optical ground stations (OGS). These systems offer data rates up to 100 times faster than RF, are resistant to jamming, and provide secure, high-bandwidth data transmission. The ATLAS-1 terminal, designed for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, can support a 10 Gbps data link. Another key product, the POLARIS terminal, has been successfully tested in NATO naval exercises for unjammable ship-to-ship communications.

Astrolight's business model is to offer optical communication as a service, integrating its terminals with its own and third-party ground infrastructure. The company has secured commercial contracts with entities like the Lithuanian Navy and is a partner in ESA programs, including the PeakSat Space Mission in Greece. In May 2025, Astrolight raised €2.8 million in a seed funding round led by Balnord, with participation from EIFO, Coinvest Capital, and others, to accelerate platform development and deploy its first operational optical ground station in the Arctic region.