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Newsletter - October 2026
One year after launching our services, Kinéis is reaching a milestone. From 20,000 to nearly 50,000 connected devices in one year, Thomas Hiriart appointed as Managing Director, the ALCYON project entrusted to us by the European Space Agency: the highlights keep coming. Also in this issue: our partnership with Netmore, our field news from Mondial Secours et Protection to Euronaval, and insights on choosing between broadband connectivity and low-power IoT.
Enjoy your reading!
FROM 20,000 TO 50,000 CONNECTED DEVICES
Kinéis profitable in its first commercial year
One year after launching its services, Kinéis is on track to break even in 2026, with expected revenue of €18 million. A rare achievement in NewSpace, made possible by the trust of our customers and partners.
In IoT, growth is accelerating: over 150% more connected devices in twelve months. Infrastructure, environment, transport, civil security, defence: use cases are multiplying and scaling up.
On the maritime side, AIS activity is showing strong momentum, driven by new partnerships signed in the first half of the year, including with LuxSpace, LSEG and Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Which customers are driving this growth? What are Kinéis’s next challenges? Find all the answers in our press release.
THOMAS HIRIART APPOINTED
As Managing Director
Kinéis is entering a new phase of its development with the appointment of Thomas Hiriart as Chief Executive Officer.
His roadmap is clear: accelerate international commercial expansion, structure the company’s offers and services, strengthen partnerships with major European prime contractors, and prepare the next IoT/AIS constellation planned for 2030.
“With 25 satellites launched and a constellation fully operational since summer 2025, Kinéis is the first operator of its kind in Europe, offering global and fully sovereign connectivity. I am honoured to join the company and to bring my energy and experience to this great project, whose applications in civil security, energy, logistics, the environment and defence are of the utmost importance,” says Thomas Hiriart.
KINÉIS SELECTED BY ESA
ALCYON: preparing the future of maritime and aeronautical surveillance
Europe is preparing IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite), its future sovereign satellite constellation, designed to provide secure connectivity to governments, institutions and businesses. To prepare its future low Earth orbit services, the European Space Agency (ESA) has entrusted Kinéis with leading the ALCYON project.
ALCYON is an in-orbit demonstration mission. Its goal: to test, under real conditions, two services that the future IRIS² constellation will be able to offer.
- Maritime surveillance, using VDES, which extends AIS with two-way data exchange with ships.
- Aeronautical surveillance, using ADS-B, to track air traffic even over the oceans.
As prime contractor and operator, Kinéis relies on a European consortium bringing together Thales Alenia Space, Satlab, Sternula and ESSP.
KINÉIS x NETMORE
Hybrid satellite/terrestrial IoT connectivity
Kinéis and Netmore Group, the global leader in LPWAN networks, are joining forces to offer IoT connectivity with no coverage gaps. Kinéis satellite connectivity is now directly available through Netmore’s ThingPark platform. Netmore operates in 18 countries.
The principle: the terrestrial LoRaWAN network handles covered areas, and the satellite automatically takes over everywhere else. Monitoring of sensitive equipment, predictive maintenance and asset tracking become possible continuously, even in the most remote areas.
Proven hybrid solutions, such as Track Value, Sentiv and Silvanet, are available immediately, with no additional hardware development.
MONDIAL SECOURS ET PROTECTION & EURONAVAL
From forest to ocean: Kinéis in the field
For Kinéis, the Mondial Secours et Protection trade showwas marked by the signing of an agreement between SDIS 77 (Seine-et-Marne fire and rescue service) and Entente Valabre. In the coming weeks, 600 satellite-connected sensors will be deployed in the Fontainebleau forest, hard hit by this summer’s wildfires.
The show also helped advance the experiments conducted with Entente Valabre under the France 2030 programme. Nearly 1,000 sensors are already in place in France to detect forest fires as soon as they start.
“With test sites spread across several French departments, and now in the Fontainebleau forest, we have a test bed of unprecedented scale to measure the real contribution of satellite IoT in detecting forest fire outbreaks, and thus enable the rapid deployment of firefighting resources,” explains Colonel Ines of Entente Valabre.
Euronaval
From 3 to 6 November 2026, Kinéis will be exhibiting at Euronaval, the international meeting place for the protection of maritime areas and security at sea.
Come and discover our AIS solutions Kin’AIS and Kin’Trust63 for global maritime surveillance, as well as our defence and security solutions.
KINÉIS IN THE EUROPEAN SPACE DEBATE
Sovereignty, constellations, innovation: Thomas Hiriart speaks out
In September, Kinéis took part in several major events dedicated to Europe’s key space challenges.
On 10 September, at the International Space Summit in Paris, Thomas Hiriart joined a panel discussion on the theme “Securing space through dialogue, defence and partnerships”, alongside Constellr, Unseenlabs, ORUS and Dragonfly Partners. Moderated by a representative of the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), the discussion focused on sovereignty, resilience and the dual-use nature of French space solutions, serving both civil and military needs.
On this occasion, he also authored an op-ed in Les Echos, arguing that Europe can master the entire space value chain in a sovereign way.
On 29 September in Toulouse, he spoke at the Tribune Space Forum, which brought together industry players, space agencies, institutions and innovators, during the panel “Constellation wars: who will win the European small satellite battle?”.
Finally, on France 24, alongside Unseenlabs, he discussed sovereignty and defence issues, highlighting Kinéis’s AIS solution for monitoring the global maritime fleet.
BROADBAND VS LOW-POWER IoT
Which satellite connectivity should you choose?
A team holding a video conference from a remote site, a ship offering Wi-Fi to its passengers, a container crossing borders, a sensor deep in a forest: they all need satellite connectivity, but not the same kind.
Broadband networks are designed to carry large volumes of data continuously: Internet, video, remote collaboration. Low-power satellite IoT, on the other hand, transmits a few critical bytes such as a position, a pressure reading or an alert, from anywhere on Earth. Connected devices can therefore run for several years on battery.
Two complementary but non-interchangeable technologies: telling them apart helps avoid unnecessary costs and complexity.
Data volume, battery life, deployment scale: which criteria matter for which operations? Our blog article explains it all, with concrete examples.
SUMMURY
AGENDA
3-6 november 2026
EURONAVAL
Kinéis stand F93 - Hall 6
📍Paris, France
Other News
What is a satellite constellation?
Satellite, 5G, and LPWAN: The Winning Combination
Simple Explanation of D2D (Direct-to-Device)
Kinéis and Entente Valabre Deploy an Innovative Space-Based Solution to Support Forest Firefighting Efforts
Terrestrial IoT vs Satellite IoT
kineis at SIAE 2025
About us
Created in 2018, Kinéis is a satellite IoT operator.
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