SpaceNews · Jul 2026
Apolink’s first 3U demonstration satellite reached orbit on a SpaceX rideshare and made contact, enabling in-orbit relay tests under an FCC experimental license.
24/7 satellite connectivity in low Earth orbit
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 29, 2026
Overview
Apolink Communications (parent company: OrbitalNerds, Inc.) is a Palo Alto-based satellite telecommunications startup building a 24/7 relay network in low Earth orbit to provide real-time, low-latency satellite connectivity via hybrid RF + optical inter-satellite links.
Primary product
24/7 LEO satellite data relay / connectivity network using hybrid RF-optical inter-satellite links
Founded
2024
Headquarters
2595 E Bayshore Rd, #150, Palo Alto, CA 94303, United States
Team size
10-20 employees
Work style
Onsite
Industry
Satellite Telecommunications
Sub-industry
Space communications / in-orbit data relay
Offices
2595 E Bayshore Rd, #150, Palo Alto, CA 94303, United States
Business model
B2B satellite communications services
in-orbit relay services
hardware-enabled space infrastructure
Funding
Stage
Seed
Total raised
$4.3M
Latest round
Seed · Jul 2025
Latest amount
$4.3M
Jul 2025
People & investors
Leadership
Founder, CEO
Chief Operating Officer
Mission Architect and Flight Ops Lead
Head of BD & Strategic Relationships
Work & culture
Mission-obsessed, hard-problems-only, zero-egos culture that emphasizes perfection, speed, and transparency.
Work style
Onsite
Visa sponsorship
No
Compensation
Public job postings show roughly $150K-$180K for a Flight Software Engineer and $120K-$500K for general application roles, both with equity. YC also surfaced general roles around $70K-$200K.
Benefits
Equity
Paid internships
Product & market
Pricing
B2B contract/service pricing; public list pricing not disclosed
Differentiators
- —Hybrid RF + optical inter-satellite links
- —Backward-compatible with existing satellite hardware
- —Real-time, low-latency continuous connectivity
- —Relay service for satellites that cannot stay continuously in view of ground stations
- —Uses an experimental FCC S-band relay license for demonstration missions
Technology
Python
C
VxWorks
FreeRTOS
Zephyr
Cortex
MATLAB
Altium
I2C
Git
Segment
Box
RF
optical inter-satellite links
Customers
Satellite operators
Earth observation missions
communications satellite operators
single-satellite operators
emerging small constellation operators
sovereign space programs
commercial space missions
Astro Digital (LOI/partner cited)
Hubble Network (LOI/partner cited)
Star Catcher Industries (LOI/partner cited)
Competitors
Thuraya
SES Satellites
Telesat
Starlink (SpaceX)
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
≈$770K ARR (GetLatka estimate, updated 2025-09-14)
Latest news
Apolink / LinkedIn · Apr 2026
Apolink announced an agreement with Sfera Technologies to support responsive Earth-observation data delivery.
SpaceNews · Feb 2026
Apolink and Galaxia announced a collaboration to study improved in-orbit relay capability for a 2027 mission.
SpaceNews · Jan 2026
Apolink partnered with RBC Signals so operators can access Apolink’s relay services through RBC’s commercial channels.
TechCrunch · Jul 2025
TechCrunch reported Apolink’s $4.3M seed round at a $45M post-money valuation and described its hybrid RF-optical relay architecture and partner LOIs.
Jobs and careers at Apolink
4 jobs at Apolink
Astrodynamics Lead (Founding Role)
On-site
Engineering
Palo Alto; Palo Alto, California, United States
Today
On-site
Full-time
Chief Engineer (Optical Comms)
On-site
Engineering
Palo Alto; Palo Alto, California, United States
Today
On-site
Full-time
Internship General App
On-site
General
Palo Alto
1y ago
On-site
Internship
General Application
On-site
General
Palo Alto
1y ago
On-site
Full-time