This week’s Pathfinder features Chris Taylor, CEO and founder of Aalyria, a Google spinout that specializes in advanced connectivity solutions. The company is developing what could be game changing free-space optics hardware and network orchestration software to meaningfully change communication speed and efficiency across air, space, land, and sea. It’s core products include:

Tightbeam: An advanced free-space optics technology which uses coherent light (laser technology) to transmit data at high speeds over long distances without physical connections like cables.
Spacetime: A SaaS platform that serves as a network management system that can control and direct data flows across different types of infrastructure, including satellites, ground stations, and other communication devices, effectively making each component a node in a larger network (think: traffic controller for communications).

In this episode, we dissect:

Free space optics 101
Aalyria’s origins as a Google spinout
Deep dive on core technologies and challenges
Strategic commercial applications

• Chapters •

00:00 Intro

00:32 Chris's path to Aalyria

02:15 What is Aalyria building?

04:52 How do different space assets communicate with each other today?

05:59 What is optical communication?

07:58 The coherent light free space optics (FSO) program

10:50 Why did Google sell their optical comms tech?

12:56 Why is this so important?

15:15 Benefits of Tightbeam over existing free space optics, coherent vs non-coherent space optics

21:22 Customer profiles

25:41 Real-world use case

28:02 Use case in autonomous fleet navigation

29:44 Fleet of autonomous taxis

30:53 Size of Aalyria's addressable market

35:34 Commercialization prospects

38:32 Work with DIU (Defense Innovation Unit)

40:01 Competitors

42:25 Limits of technology

44:22 Funding

47:00 10-year vision

50:34 What does Chris do for fun?

• Show notes •

Aalyria’s website — https://www.aalyria.com/

Aalyria’s socials — https://twitter.com/AalyriaTech

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 19,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.

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Global Connectivity, with Chris Taylor (Aalyria)

Valley of Depth