In a record funding round for China’s satellite internet sector, domestic start-up SpaceSail has raised around 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion) to accelerate the buildout of a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) network designed to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink project.Known officially as Shanghai-spacecom-satellite-technology" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="143837" data-entity-type="organization">Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, the operator of China’s Qianfan constellation completed its Series B round on Monday, according to a notice published on the website of the Shanghai-united-assets-and-equity-exchange" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="189403" data-entity-type="organization">Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange.A total of 18 investors joined the deal, including state-backed investor Shanghai-alliance-investment" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="189404" data-entity-type="organization">Shanghai Alliance Investment and hard tech-focused venture fund CAS Star. With the newly raised capital representing around 13.94 per cent equity, the company’s valuation has reached about 50 billion yuan, according to the notice.
SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS117
ENT10
THU · 2026-08-20 · 06:00 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0820-104106
NSR-2026-0820-104106News Report·EN·Technology
Armed with funding boost, SpaceSail accelerates China’s push to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink
Chinese satellite internet startup SpaceSail has secured approximately 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion) in a record Series B funding round. This significant investment, involving 18 investors including state-backed Shanghai Alliance Investment, will accelerate the development of its Qianfan low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite network.
Ben JiangSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-08-20 · 06:00 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
South China Morning PostFIG 01
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Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
Chinese satellite internet startup SpaceSail has secured approximately 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion) in a record Series B funding round. This significant investment, involving 18 investors including state-backed Shanghai Alliance Investment, will accelerate the development of its Qianfan low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite network. The funding round, announced on Monday, values the company at around 50 billion yuan. SpaceSail, officially known as Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, aims to build a LEO network intended to compete with existing projects.
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Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
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Key claims
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The company's valuation has reached about 50 billion yuan after the funding round.
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Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, operator of China’s Qianfan constellation, completed its Series B round on Monday.
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SpaceSail aims to accelerate the buildout of a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) network to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink project.
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SpaceSail has raised around 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion) in a record funding round for China’s satellite internet sector.
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Full report
1 min read · 117 words§ 05
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satellite internet
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starlink
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low-earth-orbit (leo)
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funding boost
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china
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qianfan constellation
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venture fund
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