Supporting the US Department of Defense in particular

The Rennes-based Cailabs, which we featured last June in our feature on New Space made in France published during the Salon du Bourget, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

It is one of the few companies to offer turnkey optical ground stations to manage atmospheric turbulence, enabling high-capacity laser communications, even through the atmosphere.

Today, it has risen to global prominence by declining the applications of a light-shaping technology called MPLC (Multi Plane Light Conversion).

To foster its continued growth and support its customers in the USA, in particular the Department of Defense, the start-up is opening an office in Washington.

Connecting " the last mile "

Jean-François Morizur, co-founder and president of Cailabs, says  " We are very pleased to open an office in the USA to better support our customers there and to be able to make our contribution to the ambitious roadmap of the SDA [Space Development Agency]. Laser communications have particularly matured in recent years, especially for links between satellites. They are a fast, reliable and secure means of communication, capable of transmitting large quantities of data. The ground stations we propose enable us to connect "the last mile" and bring this data down to earth in an efficient and resilient way. This makes them an important complementary technology to radio for defense in particular. "

A booming market

According to Cailabs, the value of the global laser communication market reached no less than $1.45 billion in 2022.

It is expected to reach $9.94 billion within ten years, growing at a CAGR of 13.31% during the forecast period 2023-2033.