Google spins out a secret high-speed communication network project, Aalyria. The company aims to improve satellite and cellular communications.
The secret project was unveiled to the public on Monday with a codenamed “Minkowski” within Google, CNBC reported. While Google declines to share details about the project.
Aalyria aims to manage hyper-fast, ultra-secure, and highly complex communication networks that span land, air, sea, deep and near space.
The company claims to improve satellite communications, airplanes, and ships Wi-Fi and other forms of cellular connectivity that are 100-1000x faster than anything else available today.
Aalyria has a laser communication system called “Tightbeam” and cloud base software called “Spacetime” that helps to manage complex communication networks.
How does the startup start?
According to Bloomberg, a group of Google R&D veterans founded Aalyria Technologies earlier this year to revive their innovations.
One part of Aalyria focuses on taking software used by the Loon group and transforming it into a cloud-based system to connect satellites, airplanes, and ships to high-speed internet.
Another aspect of Aalyria has to repurpose ex-Google products to create a line of laser-based wireless networking tools.
The laser technology “Tightbeam” keeps intact through the atmosphere and weather and offers connectivity where no supporting infrastructure exists.
“These technologies set a new standard for intelligently managing and extending mesh networking across all domains – lands, air, sea, and space, to provide connectivity,” said Chris Taylor, Founder and CEO of Aalyria.
He added that the connectivity on your plane, train, car, ship, space station, and Mars rover be good as it is in your home.
Aalyria is currently working with governments and space companies to make their networks more resilient and profitable. The company already has an $8.7 million commercial contract with the U.S. defense innovative unit.
Aalyria team includes technical experts and several previous Google employees and executives such as Vint Cerf, Google’s chief internet evangelist who is known as the father of the internet.
Google will continue to hold a small stake in Aalyria but decline to disclose how much it owns and how much outside funding the company has received.
Earlier this year Google transferred roughly a decade’s worth of property, patents, and physical assets to Aalyria.
More about Aalyria
Aalyria’s advanced networking and laser communication technologies are creating and managing the world’s most advanced networks to enable connectivity everywhere.
As part of the wireless connectivity efforts, Aalyria combines two technologies developed by Google parent Alphabet, Laser communication, and software platform technology for orchestrating networks across lands, air, sea, and space.
The startup is backed by leading Silicon Valley investors, including founders of Accel, J2 Ventures, and Housatonic.
