Oledcomm's LiFi in Orbit: What the EIC Accelerator Paid For
Inside every satellite runs a heavy bundle of cables carrying data between its instruments and computers. According to the EU project Oledcomm won, those signal harnesses can account for up to 10% of a satellite's dry mass. Oledcomm, a company from the Paris-Saclay area best known for LiFi, wireless networking with light instead of radio, proposed to replace some of them with short optical links.
The European Innovation Council paid €2.5 million towards the €3.94 million SATELLIFE project. Within fifteen months Oledcomm's module had flown on a nanosatellite, on OneWeb satellites and inside the fairing of Ariane 6 on its first flight. It is a strong technical record. The commercial one is harder to judge, because the company has not published its accounts since 2017.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Oledcomm SAS, SIREN 749 854 139
- Founded
- February 2012; Paris-Saclay University spin-off
- Headquarters
- Vélizy-Villacoublay, France
- President
- Benjamin Azoulay, since June 2018
- Products
- LiFi transceivers; SatelLife space module; LUCI inter-satellite terminal in development
- Space partners
- OneWeb, ArianeGroup, CNES, ESA, LATMOS
- EIC project
- SATELLIFE, 1 Dec 2021 to 30 Nov 2023, closed
- Staff
- 20 to 49 (2022 register band)
What Oledcomm Does Today
Oledcomm sells LiFi products on the ground and, since SATELLIFE, for space. In space it has moved from links inside a spacecraft to links between spacecraft. With the French space agency CNES it is developing LUCI, an ultra-compact inter-satellite terminal that the company says is designed for optical links of up to 7,800 kilometres.
In April 2023 the trade site VIPress reported that Oledcomm was preparing a fundraising of about €10 million, with the European Union expected to take one third. We found no public announcement that the round closed, of its final size, or that the EIC Fund's investment was completed.
The Technology: Data by Infrared Light
LiFi carries data by modulating light, which a photodetector reads back. According to ESA, it "may offer greater security, higher bandwidth, lower cost and power consumption" than Wi-Fi. Inside a spacecraft, short line-of-sight optical links could replace some cables, cutting weight and simplifying assembly and testing, which is the case SATELLIFE set out to prove.
"The LIFI experiment onboard Ariane 6 will be a world first as it will be the first time that Li-Fi technology has been embedded in a space launcher."
Benjamin Azoulay, chief executive, Oledcomm, to ESA, June 2024What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The EIC project
The EU paid 63% of a €3.94M space project
SATELLIFE ran from December 2021 to November 2023.
CORDIS project 190121010. Values in € millions.
SATELLIFE ran from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2023; the grant agreement was signed on 8 July 2022, seven months after the official start. The project report says the first protoboard was tested in the lab in June 2022 and in environmental conditions in July 2022, and that two flight models launched on 20 May 2023 on a SpaceX rideshare with OneWeb's satellites, giving "a first flight heritage". It names OneWeb, ArianeGroup, CNES and SpaceX as partners and claims Oledcomm became "the first company in the world" to develop and test LiFi in orbit.
The pace
In orbit 23 months after the EIC cut-off
Months from the 16 June 2021 cut-off. The project officially started before the grant agreement was signed, and the hardware flew before the project ended.
CORDIS project 190121010 and its periodic report.
- A space-qualified LiFi transceiverDeliveredLab and environmental tests in 2022; flight models in orbit in 2023.
- Flight heritageDeliveredINSPIRE-SAT 7 and OneWeb in 2023; Ariane 6 in July 2024.
- Replacing harnesses in commercial satellitesNot shownNo satellite maker has announced LiFi in place of cabling in a production spacecraft.
- Published flight resultsPartialCORDIS says in-orbit telemetry was "compliant with the expectations"; no detailed results for the Ariane 6 experiment were found.
What Has Happened Since
The record
From office LiFi to three space flights
Oledcomm's LiFi flew on a nanosatellite, on OneWeb satellites and inside Ariane 6's fairing within fifteen months.
- Feb 2012Company foundedOledcomm SAS, Vélizy-Villacoublay, Paris-Saclay University spin-off
- Jun 2021EIC Accelerator cut-offSATELLIFE submitted: LiFi to replace data cables inside spacecraft
- Dec 2021EIC project startsTwo-year project; grant agreement signed in July 2022€2.5M grant
- Apr 2023First LiFi in spaceSatelLife module on the INSPIRE-SAT 7 nanosatellite, with the LATMOS laboratory
- Apr 2023Funding round plannedAbout €10M sought, with the EU expected to take one third~€10M
- May 2023OneWeb flightTwo flight models launched on a SpaceX rideshare with OneWeb
- Nov 2023EIC project closesSpace-qualified LiFi transceiver with flight heritage
- Jul 2024Ariane 6Two modules exchange data inside the fairing on the rocket's first flight
French company register via Pappers, CORDIS, ESA, VIPress and company announcements.
The two "first LiFi in space" claims need a note. The INSPIRE-SAT 7 nanosatellite, built with the LATMOS laboratory and launched in April 2023, carried a SatelLife module; CORDIS instead cites the May 2023 OneWeb launch as the project's flight heritage. Both flights carried Oledcomm hardware.
The Money
Oledcomm files its accounts confidentially. The last figures displayed on Pappers are for 2017, when revenue was €260,000 and the net loss €135,000. The register shows capital increases as recently as October 2025, no insolvency proceedings, and six litigation entries without detail.
What cannot be checked
With no accounts since 2017 and no confirmed close of the 2023 round, the public cannot see how much the space business sells, whether the EIC Fund's equity was invested and on what terms, or how the company is financed today.
Why Europe Should Care
ESA chose to fly Oledcomm's experiment on Ariane 6's first flight, and CNES is working with it on an inter-satellite terminal. The project report says CNES and OneWeb "were impressed by the speed" of development. The strategic case is a European supplier of optical data links with flight heritage, if satellite makers adopt them.
What the project promised
The first LiFi-based wireless system for spacecraft, cutting weight, cost and complexity from satellite harnesses.
What the record shows
A space-qualified module, three flights and high-profile partners, but no announced commercial adoption and no public financial record since 2017.
The Verdict
Flown in space, unproven in the market
SATELLIFE delivered what it promised technically: hardware in orbit within two years of the cut-off, telemetry that CORDIS reports as in line with expectations, and a place on Ariane 6's first launch. What the grant bought is flight heritage, the credential space buyers require. Whether it turns into satellites built without cables, and a business that pays for itself, is not visible in any public record.
Oledcomm has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records, company statements and EU project data, linked throughout.
Industry
SpaceSpacecraft components
AlsoDigital and computingTelecommunications
- Focus
- Optical communication systems
- Networking equipment
- Technologies
- Wireless communication
- Keywords
- LiFi
- Satellite cabling
- Inter-satellite links
- Small satellites
- Optical wireless communication