It\u00a0underpins global navigation, telecommunications,\u00a0defense\u00a0and worldwide connectivity and is seeing a flood of investment.<\/p>\n
LEO satellites, with their relative proximity to Earth, deliver quicker responses, reduced launch\u00a0costs\u00a0and faster communication speeds. Unlike satellites in more elevated orbits, they do not stay above a fixed spot on Earth and often work in constellations to maximize global coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Higher trajectories,\u00a0such as Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO),\u00a0host long\u2011established satellite infrastructure, but they are subject to more rigid operational constraints.<\/p>\n
More than $45 billion worth of investment in the sector was recorded in 2025,\u00a0up sharply from just under $25 billion in 2024, according to Space IQ, a report tracking startup activity and investment trends in the space economy.<\/p>\n
“Orbital access is becoming a strategic asset much like ports, cables, or energy grids on Earth,” Carlos Moreira, CEO of Swiss cybersecurity and semiconductor firm Wisekey, told CNBC.<\/p>\n
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The most visible example of this shift is Elon Musk<\/a>‘s rapidly expanding satellite network. His rocket company, SpaceX, already\u00a0operates\u00a0the Starlink constellation, which currently has more than 9,500\u00a0satellites flying. <\/p>\n The company plans to expand this network by adding thousands more satellites. SpaceX has\u00a0also\u00a0proposed an even larger project, a solar-powered orbital data-center system,\u00a0that could eventually involve up to one million satellites.\u00a0<\/p>\n But SpaceX is not alone.\u00a0Just this week tech darling Nvidia<\/a> unveiled\u00a0a new platform aimed at bringing AI computing into orbit<\/a>. The system\u00a0is\u00a0designed to support\u00a0orbital data\u00a0centers,\u00a0geospatial\u00a0intelligence\u00a0and autonomous space operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Space computing, the final frontier, has arrived,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the company’s GTC conference 2026 in San Jose.\u00a0This\u00a0approach\u00a0could transform\u00a0orbital data\u00a0centers\u00a0into instruments of discovery and spacecraft\u00a0into self-navigating systems, he said.<\/p>\n Amazon LEO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0formerly known as Project Kuiper\u00a0\u2014\u00a0plans to deploy more than 3,000 satellites into Low Earth Orbit. Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a further 4,500 satellites for future deployment. Meanwhile, Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, is expected to launch more than 5,000 satellites by late 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Europe, Eutelsat<\/a>‘s OneWeb LEO satellite network currently consists of more than 600 satellites.\u00a0While currently operating on a much smaller scale, France is hoping the company will eventually rival<\/a> Musk’s Starlink and has committed 1.35 billion euros ($1.58 billion) in investment in Eutelsat, making it the company’s biggest shareholder with a\u00a0roughly 30%\u00a0stake.\u00a0<\/p>\n China has also filed plans for more than 200,000 satellites across 14 constellations.\u00a0<\/p>\n The scale of these planned deployments\u00a0represents\u00a0a fundamental shift in how space will be used, governed, and commercialized.\u00a0<\/p>\n A new investment moment\u00a0<\/p>\n More than $400\u202fbillion has been invested in the space economy since 2009, with the U.S. contributing over half of that investment, followed by China, according to Space Capital.<\/p>\n Space Capital CEO Chad Anderson said\u00a0the industry\u00a0remains\u00a0in the “early innings of a multi-decade infrastructure cycle.”\u00a0He noted that while the sector is still in\u00a0early stages\u00a0of evolution, it has matured enough to offer meaningful public market opportunities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Around a dozen space companies are already publicly listed, with more expected over the coming year, including the\u00a0highly\u00a0anticipated\u00a0SpaceX IPO\u00a0, which Anderson said\u00a0could mark the space sector’s “Netscape moment” \u2014 a pivotal event that reshapes investor expectations\u00a0and draws broader capital into the market.\u00a0 He argued that space should remain a domain that benefits humanity\u00a0\u2014 supporting connectivity, scientific\u00a0discovery\u00a0and economic growth\u00a0\u2014\u00a0rather than becoming a place of uncontrolled competition and systemic risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Yet as momentum builds and commercial activity accelerates, Wisekey’s Moreira cautioned that this expansion must be “managed with the same level of seriousness as digital sovereignty on Earth.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n