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On the 28th, space AI (artificial intelligence) solution company Telefix announced that it has signed a Satellite as a Service (SaaS) agreement with India's SkyServe for satellite AI services.
SkyServe is a space AI company based in Bengaluru, India, providing software infrastructure to deploy and operate AI applications on satellites. It has supplied onboard computing capabilities to enable customers, including those involved in Indian government projects, to directly run Earth observation AI models on satellites.
This contract marks the first case where Telefix has expanded its onboard AI, validated on its own satellites, and its "Over-The-Vacuum (OTV)" technology for orbital wireless software updates into a commercial service for overseas customers.
Previously, satellite functions were fixed at launch, making it virtually impossible to replace software or add new features after launch. Telefix's OTV is a technology that allows wireless uploading and execution of software on orbiting satellites, similar to installing apps on smartphones.
Telefix validated this technology in orbit last November with the AI CubeSat Bluebon. In August, it successfully demonstrated onboard AI by equipping Bluebon with an AI-based satellite image geometric correction and positioning model, enabling direct estimation and correction of image positions within the satellite.
Onboard AI processing is supported by HYBE Lead Edge AI Onboard Computer Tetraplex. This device combines a GPU (graphics processing unit), CPU (central processing unit), and FPGA (programmable semiconductor). In orbital validation, it processed images captured by satellites in space, achieving accuracy equivalent to ground-based processing results.
The core of the service is a structure that processes data in space and transmits only the results back to Earth. By mounting Earth observation AI models on satellites, image analysis is conducted in space, and only result data—not original images—are transmitted to the ground.
This approach reduces data transmission volume to approximately 1/50th of conventional levels, cutting communication costs while enabling real-time analysis. A Telefix representative stated, "The system functions as an autonomous infrastructure where satellites independently determine whether to process, store, or delete data," adding, "We have moved beyond the research and development phase into global commercialization."
Telefix supports remote deployment of SkyServe customers' AI applications and Earth observation models onto orbiting satellites, enabling utilization of onboard AI computing. Both parties are considering expanding services from a single model application to over six models.
Telefix is conceptualizing a system that combines OTV and onboard AI to remotely deploy and replace different AI models and mission software across multiple satellites, and to reconfigure processing functions according to mission conditions.
The plan includes expanding into an orbital autonomous operation system where satellite swarms autonomously perform imaging, analysis, data selection, and mission allocation. A Telefix representative said, "We aim to evolve into software-defined satellites that shift from hardware-centric to software-centric operations."
Building on this foundation, Telefix plans to conduct orbital VLM (Vision-Language Model) validation in 2027. This stage aims to advance beyond satellite recognition of objects and situations in images to understanding and reasoning about image meanings at the natural language level, thereby enhancing satellites' judgment and decision-making capabilities.
Jo Seong-ik, CEO of Telefix, stated, "This contract marks the starting point for global commercialization by enabling continuous updates to a satellite's brain after launch and allowing customers to execute AI directly in space, transforming satellites from fixed hardware into evolving AI platforms."
He added, "We have sequentially validated onboard AI computing, orbital software updates, and image correction/positioning AI. We will connect these achievements with swarm satellite autonomous operation systems and the 2027 orbital VLM validation to realize a space AI infrastructure where satellites understand and judge independently."
[MoneyToday startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']
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