SpaceX and Google both said no. Now his software is riding a SpaceX rocket next to Google’s

Key points

• Satlyt, founded by Rama Afullo, raised an $8 million seed round led by Non Sibi Ventures.
• Satlyt's software will launch Thursday on a SpaceX rocket alongside Google's Project Suncatcher prototype.
• Satlyt aims to be live on 20% of satellites by the end of the decade.

Rama Afullo, a Kenyan American engineer who previously worked at Google's cloud computing business and SpaceX's Starlink network in 2024, founded Satlyt after both companies rejected his pitch for orbital data centers. The startup, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and Nairobi, has raised an $8 million seed round led by Houston-based Non Sibi Ventures, Afullo told TechCrunch.

Satlyt builds software for satellites that enables many satellites to share the work of large computing jobs in space. Its software is set to launch Thursday on a SpaceX rocket alongside the first prototype for Google's space data center effort, Project Suncatcher.

Software approach and early results

Unlike SpaceX, Google, or startups like Starcloud and Cowboy Space Company, Satlyt is not building its own spacecraft. Afullo compared his approach to VMware and Snowflake, saying the company offers software that works across many companies' satellites. He said, "The folks like SpaceX who are doing orbital data centers — if they are the iPhone, we'll build Android as a horizontally integrated, open ecosystem."

Satlyt has already flown its software on two demonstration missions. Earlier this year, it deployed Google DeepMind's Gemma AI model onboard a spacecraft operated by Momentus. The model cut the size of a transmission about onboard software errors by more than 60%, an efficiency Afullo says can save hundreds of thousands of dollars per satellite each year.

When I was at SpaceX, I tried to pitch this internally. They said no. When I was at Google, I tried to pitch this internally. They said no.

— Rama Afullo

Upcoming launch and future plans

The Thursday launch will put Satlyt's software onboard a spacecraft built by TakeMe2Space, an Indian startup that builds computing hardware for satellites. The mission involves three customers: NASA, which is paying to test protocols for cloud computing in space; Stellerian, a startup focused on space surveillance that wants to test image processing workloads; and TakeMe2Space itself, to show the satellite can host other companies' software.

Satlyt's next project is to create a shared computing system spanning two satellites, which it expects to attempt next year. Afullo hopes to be live on 20% of satellites by the end of the decade. Non Sibi partner Kent Lucas told TechCrunch, "We don't need data centers in space for Rama to be wildly successful, right? It can just be driven by the number of satellites going up."