Boeing through its investment wing, Boeing HorizonX Ventures, has announced an investment in Australia-based IoT startup, Myriota. Myriota seeks to revolutionize satellite communications by providing low-cost access to high-value data in remote locations. It has developed technology enabling two-way communications between ground-based micro-transmitters and low Earth orbit (LEO) nanosatellites to securely share data over narrow bandwidths. This direct-to-orbit platform enables applications across the logistics, defense, utilities, agricultural, environmental and maritime industries, where IoT connectivity via traditional means is extremely challenging and expensive.
Founded in 2015, Myriota builds on the work of its founders with the University of South Australia's Institute for Telecommunications Research. The company's direct-to-orbit technology enables massive-scale, low-cost communications for IoT devices anywhere on Earth.
Boeing HorizonX Ventures' investment in Myriota is its first in a company outside of the U.S. and its 10th since it was launched in April 2017. Part of its mission is to pursue and accelerate innovations coming out of startups around the world. It participated in the US $15 million Series A funding round led by Australian firms Blue Sky Venture Capital and Main Sequence Ventures, which manages the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Innovation Fund. Other investors include Right Click Capital and Singtel Innov8.
For Boeing in Australia, Myriota is the latest example of the company's continued investment in Australian technology that spans internal R&D, suppliers and partners, and universities. So far this year, Boeing announced a set of space-related R&D projects with CSIRO and the launch in Queensland of the company's largest autonomous systems development program outside of the U.S. In South Australia, Myriota joins Boeing's expanding presence in Adelaide, which Boeing announced last year in addition to an AU$500,000 (US$383,000) investment over five years in the Adelaide-based Techstars global accelerator program to support local startups.
The Boeing HorizonX Ventures investment portfolio is made up of companies specializing in technologies for aerospace and manufacturing innovations, including autonomous systems, energy storage, advanced materials, augmented reality systems and software, machine learning and hybrid-electric propulsion. It also seeks unique business opportunities and non-traditional partnerships for the company's aerospace technology using disruptive innovations and business strategies.
