EquitiesTechnology

AST SpaceMobile Reports Q1 Results

AST SpaceMobile facility in Midland, Texas

Midland, TX-based AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS) is looking ahead to the expected summer launch of BlueWalker 3 (BW3) with SpaceX. 

BW3, a 1.5-ton, 693-square-foot phased array beast, will be a testbed for the company’s space-based cellular broadband network technology. Bet the farm moment?

  • In May, the FCC granted AST SpaceMobile an experimental license to test space-to-ground transmissions between BW3 and unmodified smartphones. 
  • As of March 31, AST SpaceMobile had invested $82.7M into testing and building BlueWalker 3. The satellite has undergone 700+ tests.
  • The company plans to scale production to a second, 100,000-sq-ft. facility in Texas. It’s targeting a production rate of six satellites per month. 

Q1 business updates

AST SpaceMobile booked $2.4M in revenue and burned through nearly $70M in Q1, ending the quarter with $255M in cash/equivalents. Operating expenses increased $1.4M quarter-on-quarter to $32.7M. 

  • Earlier this month, AST SpaceMobile announced a deal to sell more stock and raise $75M. 
  • Apropos of nothing…Yesterday’s $ASTS earnings call had some fresh analyst faces (at least compared to the last one Payload tuned into).

+ Market data snapshot: $ASTS is down ~12% YTD. The company is valued at $1.3B.

Related Stories
StartupsTechnology

Benchmark Sends Metal Plasma Propulsion to Orbit

The company already has 50 orders for the thruster.

StartupsTechnology

Aethero Wants to Bring Edge Compute Into Orbit

The next generation of space capabilities, such as orbital servicing, will require even brainier orbiting robots.

Equities

Earnings Report: What We’re Waiting For

Rocket Lab Needs Neutron The second-busiest US launcher’s losses—and future profits—all hinge on Neutron, a rocket designed to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9. CEO Peter Beck said the first hot fires of the new Archimedes engine will set the schedule for the rocket, which the company has ambitiously forecast to be on the launchpad this […]

EquitiesStartups

Exclusive: Heliux Comes Out of Stealth With $2M In Funding

Heliux, a startup building an AI-powered enterprise operating system, is emerging from stealth today with the announcement of its first $2M funding round.