UK-based satellite internet service developer OneWeb filed for bankruptcy on Friday after investors including internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund failed to provide additional funding, TechCrunch reported.
OneWeb is looking to create an intergalactic internet system that would utilise a constellation of 650 satellites to provide wifi coverage in remote areas for private sector and governmental customers. It had 74 satellites in the sky as of earlier this month.
The company has so far raised a total of $3.4bn in funding and had been in talks with investors including SoftBank – which had reportedly written down some $460m of its existing investment in August 2019 – to raise $2bn, sources told the Financial Times.
OneWeb confirmed the news in a press release on Friday, stating it had filed for bankruptcy in the US and that the market disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic had been responsible for its failure to secure new funding.
Although there was interest in the company’s offering, the high costs required to support the satellite launches meant it was unable to continue without a substantial influx of money. It is seeking a buyer for its assets.
Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, aerospace manufacturer Airbus, conglomerates Virgin Group and Bharti Enterprises, beverage producer Coca-Cola Company, telecoms network operator Totalplay and satellite technology providers Intelsat and Hughes Network Systems provided $500m for OneWeb in 2015.
SoftBank invested $1bn to lead a $1.2bn round for the company the following year that included Qualcomm, Airbus, Coca-Cola Company, Virgin, Bharti Enterprises, Totalplay Hughes Network Systems and Intelsat.
Qualcomm, SoftBank, the government of Rwanda and Grupo Salinas, the conglomerate that owns Totalplay, added $1.25bn in funding for OneWeb in March 2019.
