The story
AST SpaceMobile was founded in May 2017 by Abel Avellan as AST & Science LLC. Avellan remains the chairman and chief executive officer of the company. Originally from Venezuela, Avellan is a United States citizen who previously worked for Swedish telecommunications conglomerate Ericsson. In 1999, Avellan founded Emerging Markets Communications, a satellite-based communications services provider to maritime and other mobility markets, which was acquired in 2016 for US$550 million. He also serves as a Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.
AST & Science purchased a controlling interest in NanoAvionics, a Lithuanian satellite manufacturing company, on March 6, 2018.
In March 2020, AST & Science LLC announced a Series B investment round, led by Vodafone and Rakuten, that raised $110 million for the company. Samsung Next, American Tower, and Cisneros also participated.
New Providence's first special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) announced in April 2021 that its shareholders had approved a proposal to form AST SpaceMobile in a business combination with AST & Science LLC. AST SpaceMobile began to trade on the Nasdaq in the week after that announcement. New Providence had raised $462 million through an initial public offering (IPO) and a private investment in public equity (PIPE) to fully fund the development and first phase of its satellite constellation.
AST SpaceMobile started generating revenue through a U.S. Government contract in 2024. However, the company does not expect to begin generating substantial revenue through mobile network operators like AT&T and Verizon until the company's BlueBird 1-5 satellites are fully operational. The mobile network operators with whom the company has agreements and understandings collectively serve over 2.8 billion existing subscribers.
In July 2022, Nokia announced that it had won a five-year 4G and 5G deal from AST SpaceMobile.
AST SpaceMobile sold its majority ownership stake in NanoAvionics to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace in September 2022.
In January 2024, AST SpaceMobile announced a new partnership with Google and AT&T to collaborate on product development, testing, and implementation plans for bringing satellite connectivity to Android smartphones.
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In May 2024, the company announced a $100 million partnership with Verizon to expand coverage to more remote parts of the United States, beyond the reach of a land-based network.
On August 21, 2024, after the company confirmed its first commercial satellite launch in early September, AST SpaceMobile stock price jumped to $38.60 per share, or around 1,800% compared to record lows of $1.97 per share on April 2, 2024. As a result, the company's market cap exceeded $8 billion in August 2024. On December 9, 2024, AST SpaceMobile announced a commercial contract to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity to Vodafone in Europe and Africa, as well as Vodafone's partners, through 2034; making a first test mobile video call with a standard smartphone the following month.
In December 2024, SpaceNews named AST SpaceMobile "Emerging Space Company of the Year" at its annual Icon Awards.
As of Q2 2025, AST SpaceMobile has raised over US$2 billion.
Time Magazine included the company's BlueBird satellite design in its Best Inventions list in 2025, and Fast Company recognized CEO Abel Avellan among its Visionaries of the Year.
In mid-October 2025, AST SpaceMobile shipped its first next-generation BlueBird Block 2 satellite, FM1 (designated BlueBird-6), to India for launch preparations.
Following delivery, AST SpaceMobile prepared FM1 for a target launch date in December 2025.
On October 29, 2025, AST SpaceMobile announced a 10-year agreement with stc group that includes a $175 million prepayment commitment to support direct-to-device services in Saudi Arabia and selected regional markets.
ISRO's LVM3 successfully launched the BlueBird Block-2 satellite into low Earth orbit on December 24, 2025, lifting off from Sriharikota at 8:55 a.m. and deploying the satellite 15 minutes later.
From Wikipedia’s article on AST SpaceMobile, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7