UK invests $191M in Eutelsat as Europe accelerates space race with rival Starlink

Eutelsat just got a serious boost in its bid to take on Elon Musk’s Starlink. The UK is pouring €163.3 million ($191 million) into the satellite operator, joining a France-led funding push that’s now raised €1.5 billion in total, according to a report from Bloomberg. The investment was confirmed Thursday, giving Europe’s satellite ambitions new momentum at a time when space is becoming increasingly strategic.

The funding round—led by the French government, Bharti Space, shipping giant CMA CGM, and the Fonds Stratégique de Participations—saw €1.35 billion committed last month. With the UK now joining, the total capital injection puts Eutelsat in a stronger position to build out its fleet and compete more directly with Starlink in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

“The additional funds bring the amount the low-Earth-orbit satellite company has raised to €1.5 billion, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The French government, Bharti Space, CMA CGM and Fonds Stratégique de Participations announced they would invest €1.35 billion last month in a deal to help the company build out its fleet of satellites,” Bloomberg reported.

As Europe Eyes Space Autonomy, UK Joins France in $1.5B Eutelsat Investment

French President Emmanuel Macron, currently on a state visit to Britain, thanked London for the support in a post on X. The news also lifted investor confidence—Eutelsat shares jumped as much as 10% in early Paris trading.

Eutelsat, which merged with UK-based OneWeb in 2023, now operates a mixed fleet of 34 geostationary satellites and more than 600 LEO satellites, making it the second-largest LEO operator behind Starlink. While it’s not trying to outpace Musk in scale, it is trying to offer a European-owned alternative at a time when space assets are becoming a matter of national security.

The UK government’s new investment allows it to maintain its 10.89% stake in Eutelsat, avoiding dilution from the French recapitalization announced in June. It also keeps its so-called “golden share” in OneWeb, which gives the UK certain veto powers over the subsidiary’s operations.

Peter Kyle, the UK’s science and technology minister, said the move reflects Britain’s commitment to staying relevant in the global satellite sector. “As our adversaries increasingly use space technologies to harm us, resilient satellite connectivity has become essential to our continent’s national security,” Kyle said in a statement.

France isn’t holding back either. Its state shareholding agency is injecting €750 million to take its stake to nearly 30%, which would make France Eutelsat’s largest shareholder later this year. The move is part of a broader effort to shore up key infrastructure across Europe—satellites included—after a string of geopolitical disruptions, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the aftershocks of Brexit and Trump-era “America First” policies.

“Under the plan, France’s state shareholding agency will inject 750 million euros and bring its stake in the satellite operator to 29.65%. With its new investment, Britain will maintain its 10.89% stake in Eutelsat, avoiding dilution from the French recapitalisation announced in June, while trying to maintain influence in European space policy despite Brexit,” Reuters also reported.

There’s also a potential upside for the UK in the EU’s IRIS² satellite project. While the UK is no longer part of the EU, Eutelsat is one of the program’s main contractors, and this new show of support could help Britain stay in the mix.

For now, the message is clear: Europe is tired of watching the satellite sector get dominated from across the Atlantic. And with Eutelsat’s funding round now at €1.5 billion, the continent’s space ambitions are no longer just talk.