Europe is driving hard on direct-to-device (D2D).
The European Investment Bank (EIB) extended €25M ($29.5M) in venture debt financing to Luxembourg-based D2D satellite operator OQ Technology. The company will use the money to develop and launch 20+ sats in the next two years.
“This is actually a big achievement, and also a testimony from the European Union perspective that having a European LEO direct-to-device player is strategically important,” OQ Technology CEO and founder Omar Qaise told Payload. “[The funding] will also, I think, give trust to a lot of equity investors to support the company.”
Too much winning: The announcement follows a string of successes for OQ Technology during the past 18 months.
- In February 2025, the European Innovation Council (EIC) supported the company with a €2.5M ($2.94M) grant and up to €15M ($17.67M) in equity financing to support the development of D2D tech.
- In November, the company first demonstrated its D2D emergency broadcast capabilities.
- At the end of 2025, OQ Technology’s revenue increased 130% year-over-year, according to Qaise.
Rock and rollout: With support from EIB, OQ Technology has the funds to compound its growth.
- The company plans to double its headcount to 100+ by the end of this year, and expects to reach a constellation of 30 sats in the next few years.
- The company’s long-term goal is to operate a constellation of 100 D2D payloads, both on dedicated satellites and as hosted payloads aboard partner sats.
- OQ has partnered with a range of telecoms to expand its reach, including Germany’s O2 Telefónica, Dutch telco KPN, and most recently, US-based Monogoto.
The rollout plan will support D2D text applications in 2026, and full voice connectivity in 2027, for applications across Europe such as sovereign connectivity needs, institutional networks, and consumer-grade connections.
“We are the only European player that is targeting D2D with good milestones achieved already,” Qaise said. “Having support from two big European institutes [EIB and EIC] backing up our D2D sovereign constellation concept definitely signals that there is a direction towards this from Europe… so I believe there will be a lot [of demand] coming in.”
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