Kymeta Corporation is a

satellite communications A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. ...

company based in the United States.

History

Kymeta was founded in August 2012 after spinning out from

Intellectual Ventures Intellectual Ventures is an American private equity company that centers on the development and licensing of intellectual property. Intellectual Ventures is one of the top-five owners of U.S. patents, as of 2011. Its business model focuses on b ...

and manufactures software-enabled, meta-materials based electronic beamforming antennas and terminals for satellite communications. Founder Nathan Kundtz served as the CEO until 2018. In March 2017, Kymeta announced commercial availability of its first products, the mTenna^U7 antenna subsystem module (ASM) and KyWay terminal, which are the first metamaterials-based products to be successfully commercialized. Kymeta partnered with

Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...

to offer KĀLO satellite services, which can be bundled with all Kymeta products. As of October 2018, the company has raised nearly $200 million in funding from various investors including

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

and

Lux Capital Lux Capital is a venture capital firm based in New York City. It was founded in 2000, and focuses on investments in emerging technologies. History Lux Capital was founded in 2000 by Peter Hébert, Robert Paull and Josh Wolfe. In April 2011, for ...

Technology

Metamaterial A metamaterial (from the Greek word μετά ''meta'', meaning "beyond" or "after", and the Latin word ''materia'', meaning "matter" or "material") is a type of material engineered to have a property, typically rarely observed in naturally occu ...

Surface Antenna Technology (MSAT) is an innovative approach in satellite communications, developed by Kymeta Corporation. MSAT aims to overcome challenges in broadband satellite communications, especially in scenarios involving mobile platforms and non-geostationary satellites. An important innovation in MSAT is the incorporation of high-birefringence

liquid crystals Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal can flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a common direction as i ...

(LC) as a tunable dielectric at microwave frequencies. This enables large-angle beam scanning of over 60 degrees while consuming minimal power, less than 10 Watts. Significantly, this scanning capability is achieved without mechanical components. The antenna's slim profile, with a thickness of about 5.0 cm, further contributes to its efficiency. In terms of antenna design, MSAT introduces an innovative perspective by using metasurfaces and holographic beamforming principles. Unlike traditional three-dimensional metamaterials, which rely on bulky structures and resonant phenomena, MSAT employs metasurfaces characterized by small periodic scatterers and surface thickness relative to the wavelength of interest. This approach enhances efficiency and minimizes losses. Metamaterial Surface Antenna Technology (MSAT) by Kymeta offers a unique perspective on addressing challenges in satellite communications. By incorporating high-birefringence liquid crystals, metasurfaces, and holographic

beamforming Beamforming or spatial filtering is a signal processing technique used in sensor arrays for directional signal transmission or reception. This is achieved by combining elements in an antenna array in such a way that signals at particular angles ...

, MSAT enables the development of electronically-scanned antennas that effectively address bandwidth, efficiency, and manufacturing tolerance issues. These antennas demonstrate exceptional performance in both Ku and Ka satellite bands, making them a potential solution for various mobile satellite applications.

References

{{authority control American companies established in 2011 Companies based in Redmond, Washington Telecommunications companies of the United States