Antwerp-Based TUSK IC Secures €15 Million to Move Ka-Band Satellite Chips Into Mass Production

TUSK IC has secured €15 million in Series A funding to move its Ka-band satellite communication chips from prototypes into high-volume production. The round was led by Matterwave Ventures, FORWARD.one and the Flanders Future Tech Fund, managed by PMV, with participation from the Schaubroeck family and continued support from existing investors.

Founded in Antwerp in 2018 as a spin-out from KU Leuven’s mmWave research group, TUSK IC is a fabless semiconductor company developing millimetre-wave integrated circuits and modules for satellite communications, automotive and industrial applications. The company initially focused on radio-frequency chips for automotive radar and industrial sensing before expanding into satellite communications in 2022.

The company was originally founded by Wouter Steyaert, Wouter Volkaerts, Shailesh Kulkarni and Maarten Tytgat. The founding team grew the business from four KU Leuven PhDs into a specialised mmWave IC design company.

TUSK IC’s flagship technology is its ConnectKa range of standard CMOS-based beamformer chips for Ka-band satellite links. These components sit at the heart of electronically steerable flat-panel antennas used to connect satellite terminals with LEO and MEO constellations. By manufacturing the chips using mainstream CMOS processes rather than more specialised semiconductor materials such as SiGe, TUSK IC aims to reduce cost and power consumption while maintaining the performance required for satellite communications.

The company has already received support from the European Space Agency (ESA) and BELSPO. In July 2026, ESA awarded TUSK IC a contract under its ARTES programme to advance the company’s beamforming technology through design optimisation, qualification, pilot production and volume-manufacturing infrastructure.

TUSK IC will use the new funding to accelerate the commercialisation and mass production of its Ka-band beamformer chips, while continuing development of its ConnecTile modules and flat-panel antenna technology. The company is also working with a satellite equipment manufacturer to integrate its beamformer technology into a new electronically steered array antenna.

The company’s roadmap targets mass-volume Ka-band products from 2027, with further expansion into sensing markets and E-band technology planned beyond that.