2020 Year in Review
January 6, 2021
Happy New Year!
2020 was the most exciting and impactful year for Swarm yet, despite some unexpected challenges and curveballs! We want to thank all of our customers, investors, friends, family, cheerleaders, and employees who have supported Swarm through the ups and downs, and helped get us to where we are today – commercially live!
Here is our 2020 Year in Review, and what we’re most excited to bring the world in 2021!
– Sara and Ben, co-founders
Our 2020 highlights
1. We launched commercially!
We launched our first 12 commercial satellites in September, announced products and pricing, and are now onboarding early customers onto the network. To date, nearly 4 million data packets have already been sent on the Swarm network.
2. We have 45 satellites in orbit…
…(36 commercial and 9 experimental) with more to come soon. Track them live here.
3. Ranked #2 in Fast Company’s list of the Most Innovative Space Companies of 2020.
4. Launched our new website.
Check out some cool features, including tracking our satellites live, a real-time counter of packets sent on the network, and an inside look at what makes our technology unique.
5. Developed and rolled out the Swarm Tile Eval Kit,
which enables customers to get on our network and successfully transmit faster than ever!
6. Gained market access in new countries.
We now have access across many continents, plus international waters.
7. Installed new ground stations
in Guam, St. Helena, the UK, Alaska, the Azores, Washington State, and New Jersey.
8. Received our first patent:
990101 – US Patent No. 10,745,152 on our novel attitude control scheme and satellite design, which enables our world’s smallest two-way satellite design!
9. Received coverage in numerous media outlets,
including Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Fast Company, Quartz, SpaceNews, ViaSatellite, and more.
10. The Swarm team grew to 28.
We hired new team members across software, hardware, operations, sales engineering, marketing, recruiting, finance, programs, and customer success.
What we’re most excited about in 2021
1. Providing low-cost connectivity to our customers!
Our biggest priority in 2021 is to drive value for our customers by helping them successfully transmit on the Swarm network as quickly as possible. We had a great start in 2020 and look forward to much more to come.
2. Continuing our network deployment.
We have multiple launches coming up and expect to have several more satellites deployed by the end of the year. We’re excited for these additional sats to increase our network capacity and reduce latency.
3. Expanding market access.
Our mission to provide global affordable connectivity means we want to be able to serve customers in as many countries as possible. We look forward to gaining additional approvals in 2021 so we can make low-cost IoT connectivity accessible to even more countries, devices, and people!
4. Continuing to grow our team!
We’re actively hiring for multiple open roles – all listed here. Our Head of Sales, Electrical Engineer, and Backend or Full Stack Software Engineer roles are the team’s top priorities. Please let us know if you’re interested or can introduce us to top talent!
