Satlabs is building relay satellites to shorten the waiting period for Earth observation data

Satlabs Space Systems, founded February 2023 by Saisree Eega and Sooraj Gopakumar, is developing a constellation of low-cost relay satellites to reduce latency of Earth observation data from hours to minutes.

The company raised ₹9 crore (~$1 million) in a seed round announced February 2026, from Finvolve and India Accelerator.

The relay satellites act as floating ground stations, passing data from imaging satellites to users without waiting for ground station passes.

Satlabs aims to launch a proof-of-concept relay satellite, with plans for a full constellation of about 150 satellites in low Earth orbit.

Target applications include defense, agriculture, disaster response, offshore energy, and industrial connected devices.