Taara’s idea was not born from nowhere. Before that, Google had tried the experience of stratospheric balloons with the Loon project. But to fly antennas at an altitude of 20 km, it was a bit complicated (and especially expensive). Result: Google dropped in 2021. Rather than throwing everything away, the engineers kept the techno of lasers and adapted it to a simpler and easier system to deploy.
Lasers to avoid cables
Taara is a laser beam the size of a pencil that sends data to 20 gigabits per second over 20 km. Emitters, large as tricolor fires, can be fixed on posts, roofs or even trees. No need to dig or put cables, and it costs much less than fiber.
Subscribe to WorldOfSoftware
« You can offer 10, even 100 times more bandwidth than a standard Starlink antenna, at a much lower cost “Explains Mahesh Krishnaswamy, boss of Taara. The technology has already proven itself with a 5 km laser bridge above the Congo river, connecting Brazzaville and Kinshasa, and was even used to relieve the mobile network of the Coachella festival.
Now that Taara is standing on her own two feet, the startup wants to move up a gear. Based in Sunnyvale, California, the company has around twenty employees and seeks to grow quickly. Alphabet keeps a minority part in the box, but it has also raised funds from Series X Capital to accelerate its development.
Unlike Starlink, which sells subscriptions directly to users, Taara works hand in hand with operators like Bharti Airtel and T-Mobile. “” Think of us as a complement that boosts and extends the existing networks “, Specifies Mahesh Krishnaswamy.
But Starlink did not say his last word. With its 7,000 satellites and 4.7 million subscribers, the Elon Musk network has garnered $ 9.3 billion in 2023. Taara plays in another category, but it counts on a key innovation to stand out: a tiny silicon photonics processor, being developed. This chip could replace the mirrors and lenses of current transmitters, making techno even more effective.
For Eric Teller, who directs the incubator X, ” The world will lack radio frequencies. Those who will be able to use light to transmit data will be one step ahead ». Taara still has a long way to go, but she already has a beautiful asset in hand.
🟣 To not miss any news on the Geek Journal, subscribe to Google News. And if you love us, .
