Overview
Anywaves is a Toulouse-based new space company specializing in compact, miniaturized antenna systems for small satellites and nanosatellites. Founded in 2017 as a spinout from CNES (the French space agency), the company designs flight-qualified antennas that fit within the extreme size, mass, and power constraints of CubeSat and small satellite platforms — a market growing exponentially as new space constellations multiply globally. Anywaves’ products enable the communication links that make small satellite constellations commercially viable, from IoT data collection to Earth observation downlinks.
The company’s founding from CNES reflects one of France 2030’s core mechanisms for space sector development: converting research and prototype work conducted at public space agencies into commercial products through spin-off companies backed by public-private partnership funding. This pipeline from CNES to commercial new space company is one France 2030 has explicitly supported, recognizing that sovereign French capability in space extends beyond the traditional large prime contractors (Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space) to include the component and subsystem suppliers that enable the new space revolution.
France 2030 Funding & Projects
Anywaves participates in France 2030’s space investment axis through CNES’s business incubation center (France’s premier space startup incubator) and through Bpifrance’s deeptech program. The company has received France 2030-aligned funding for the development of next-generation antenna systems meeting the miniaturization and performance requirements of the OneWeb, Kinéis, and IRIS2 constellation programs — all of which require thousands of satellite-grade antennas produced at new space cost points rather than traditional space heritage pricing.
The Toulouse location provides Anywaves with proximity to Airbus Defence and Space’s satellite integration facilities, Thales Alenia Space’s Toulouse operations, and the CNES technical center — enabling the customer qualification testing and technology collaboration critical for a small antenna company competing for contracts on large satellite programs. France 2030’s space cluster support funding specifically targets this kind of supply chain development within the Toulouse aerospace ecosystem.
Strategic Position
Anywaves addresses the antenna subsystem segment of the small satellite market — a segment that has been historically dominated by large antenna manufacturers (Harris Corporation, Boeing) whose products are cost-qualified for large government satellites but prohibitively expensive for small commercial platforms. The emergence of new space constellations requiring thousands of small satellites has created a market for space-qualified antennas at cost points 10–100x lower than traditional heritage designs.
Anywaves’ competition comes from US companies (Orion Space Solutions, Antenna Research Associates), UK companies (Gnomus, ISISpace), and in-house antenna development teams at larger satellite manufacturers. The company’s CNES heritage and proximity to major satellite integrators gives it design qualification opportunities that independent antenna startups without institutional relationships struggle to access.
Key Technology & Innovation
Anywaves’ core technology advantage is its additive manufacturing (3D printing) process for antenna production combined with miniaturization techniques that pack the same RF performance into dramatically smaller and lighter packages than conventionally machined antennas. The company produces antennas from 150 MHz to 40 GHz frequency range, covering VHF, UHF, S-band, X-band, and Ka-band — the full spectrum of frequencies used for small satellite communications and Earth observation.
The company has developed proprietary simulation and design software that enables rapid customization of antenna designs for specific mission frequency and coverage requirements, reducing the design cycle from months to weeks. This design agility is commercially critical for new space customers who iterate mission designs rapidly compared to traditional satellite programs.
Leadership
Thomas Gallais-Sérézal co-founded Anywaves following his work at CNES, bringing space systems engineering expertise and the institutional relationships that come from building the founding technology within CNES’s technical team. The founding team’s deep knowledge of CNES qualification processes gives Anywaves an understanding of the certification requirements that commercial satellite programs inherit from institutional customers.
Competitive Landscape
Anywaves competes in the small satellite component market alongside French companies including Exotrail (propulsion), Kinéis (IoT connectivity), and Loft Orbital (satellite services). France 2030’s new space axis supports the development of this entire component supplier ecosystem, recognizing that French space sovereignty requires not just satellite prime contractors but a complete supply chain of qualified component providers.
The risk for small satellite component suppliers is commoditization as the market scales: as volumes increase, production cost advantages move toward high-volume manufacturers in Asia. Anywaves’ differentiation through design customization and CNES qualification heritage provides some protection, but the long-term competitive position requires continuous R&D investment in next-generation antenna technologies.
Investor Perspective
Anywaves is an early-stage company at the component layer of the new space industry — a position with real commercial traction given the constellation build-out but limited scale relative to the satellite prime contractors and constellation operators above it in the value chain. France 2030 support provides the runway to build customer references on constellation programs that can scale with market growth.
For new space investors, component suppliers like Anywaves represent infrastructure plays on the new space ecosystem — lower headline upside than constellation operators but lower technical and market risk, with real revenue from qualified space hardware. The France 2030 and CNES ecosystem provides a uniquely supportive environment for French space hardware companies that US-only new space components companies cannot replicate.