Satlyt

Satlyt is a software company focused on running artificial intelligence workloads on satellites in orbit. It was co-founded by Rama Afullo, a Kenyan American engineer who previously worked in Google's cloud computing business and had a brief stint at SpaceX's Starlink communications network in 2024. Afullo has said that during his time at both SpaceX and Google he tried to pitch the idea of computers in space internally, and after being turned down he left SpaceX to co-found Satlyt. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with a second base in Nairobi, Kenya. Rather than building its own spacecraft, Satlyt is developing software that operates AI models on satellites and allows many satellites to share the work of large computing jobs in space. Afullo has compared the company's approach to VMware and Snowflake — platforms that let users run complex software without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. He has framed Satlyt's position in the emerging orbital data center market with an analogy: if companies like SpaceX building orbital data centers are the iPhone, Satlyt aims to build Android as a horizontally integrated, open ecosystem. In other words, Satlyt wants to offer software that works across many different companies' satellites rather than being tied to a single operator's hardware. Satlyt has raised an $8 million seed round, which Afullo disclosed exclusively to TechCrunch. The company has already flown its software on two demonstration missions, and its software was set to launch on a SpaceX rocket alongside the first prototype for Google's space data center effort, Project Suncatcher. Its initial focus is finding operational efficiencies for spacecraft, which typically involve analyzing large volumes of orbital data. Satlyt operates in the emerging intersection of space technology and artificial intelligence, competing conceptually with vertically integrated orbital data center efforts from SpaceX, Google, and startups such as Starcloud and Cowboy Space Company, while positioning itself as the neutral, cross-platform software layer for AI in orbit.

Satlyt was co-founded by Rama Afullo, a Kenyan American engineer who previously worked in Google's cloud computing business and had a brief stint at SpaceX's Starlink communications network in 2024. According to Afullo, his experiences at both companies convinced him that there was untapped potential for computers in space. He has said that while at SpaceX he tried to pitch the idea internally and was told no, and that he had a similar experience at Google. He left SpaceX and co-founded Satlyt to build software for satellites that he hopes will let many satellites share the work of large computing jobs in space. The company established headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, and Nairobi, Kenya. It raised an $8 million seed round, which Afullo disclosed exclusively to TechCrunch in October 2026. By that time, Satlyt had already flown its software on two demonstration missions, and its software was set to launch on a SpaceX rocket alongside the first prototype for Google's space data center effort, Project Suncatcher. Satlyt's approach differs from that of SpaceX, Google, and startups like Starcloud and Cowboy Space Company, which are pursuing orbital data centers by building their own spacecraft. Afullo's team instead builds the software to operate AI models on satellites, comparing the approach to VMware and Snowflake — companies whose platforms let users run complex software without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. He has described Satlyt's ambition in competitive terms: if the companies building orbital data centers are the iPhone, Satlyt wants to build Android as a horizontally integrated, open ecosystem. The company's initial focus is finding operational efficiencies for spacecraft, which typically involve analyzing large volumes of orbital data.

• Rama Afullo has a brief stint at SpaceX's Starlink communications network.

• TechCrunch reports that Satlyt has raised an $8 million seed round and that its software is set to launch on a SpaceX rocket alongside Google's Project Suncatcher prototype.

Neutral, cross-platform software layer for running AI on satellites — analogous to VMware and Snowflake for infrastructure abstraction, and to Android as an open, horizontally integrated alternative to vertically integrated orbital data centers.

• AI-on-satellite software platform

  Software that operates AI models on satellites and lets many satellites share the work of large computing jobs in space.

1. 1Satlyt, founded by a former Google and SpaceX product manager, raises $8M to run AI on satellites | TechCrunchtechcrunch.com
2. 2Satlyt takes another step toward turning satellites into space data centerstechcrunch.com