American company Kymeta was founded in 2012 to develop software and metamaterial-based electronic beamforming for next-generation satellite communications antennas. The company is currently seeking a new round of financing.
The Kymeta mTenna antenna is manufactured using similar production technology to liquid crystal displays. It is easy to operate and has no moving parts. The antenna can be automatically calibrated to adjust the reception of electromagnetic waves during driving. In March this year, Kymeta KyWay satellite terminal has been certified by satellite operators such as Intelsat, Telesat, SES and HISPASAT, and provides mobile communication services for vehicles such as cars, trains, buses, trucks, and ships. In the first half of this year, the company and Microsoft reached a cooperation to develop multi-functional vehicles with continuous Internet access and provide data services for police, fire brigade and disaster relief teams.
In the early days of the company's founding, it was invested by Bill Gates. In April 2017, the company received a US $ 73.6 million investment from Intelsat, with a cumulative financing of US $ 217.6 million.
Compared with traditional materials, due to the use of metamaterials, the company's mTenna antennas are lighter, thinner, lower power, and lower in price. You only need to install the antenna on a vehicle to build a broadband network via satellite.
According to Strategies MRC, by 2022, the global metamaterials market will reach USD 2.63 billion, with a compound growth rate of 23.2% between 2016 and 2022. At present, many developed countries are increasing the research and development of metamaterial technology. The US Department of Defense has listed it as one of the "six subversive basic research fields." In 2010, Science magazine included metamaterials in the first decade of this century. One of 10 important scientific advances.
China also attaches great importance to the development of metamaterial technology, and has supported the research of metamaterials in projects such as the 863 Plan, the 973 Plan, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and major new materials projects. In the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" Special Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation in Materials, which was released in 2017, metamaterials were also planned.