The global broadband internet landscape may well have a new entrant market some day in Taara, spun off this month by Google-parent Alphabet. But Elon Musk's satellite service Starlink, part of SpaceX, holds a big lead as Taara seeks funding, Amazon.com ramps up its Kuiper satellite service and Europe's Eutelsat aims to benefit from geopolitical events.
Alphabet is spinning out Taara, which has developed laser-based internet broadband technology, as part of its new strategy to commercialize research projects known as "Moonshots." While some of Google's research projects have been commercialized, such as self-driving car pioneer Waymo, others need outside financial support.
Alphabet will retain a minority stake in Taara, which aims to provide high-speed internet connections in rural areas. Taara currently operates in 12 countries.
"We've realized over time that for a good number of the things we create, there's a lot of benefit to landing just outside of the Alphabet membrane," Alphabet X research head told the Verge. "They're going to be able to get connected quickly to market capital, bring in strategic investors and generally be able to scale faster this way."
Also, Series X Capital is a new Taara investor.
A the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the company unveiled its next-generation chip, which uses invisible light beams to transmit high-speed data through the air, noted a Fierce Wireless report.
Musk's Starlink, however, has a big lead.
Space X IPO Could Boost Musk
According to a recent Musk tweet on X, formerly Twitter, Starlink now has over 5 million subscribers in 125 countries, up from 4.6 million at year-end 2024. Starlink is expanding into India a big potential market.
Parent SpaceX has reached agreements with Indian telecom firms Relaince Jio and Bharti Airtel to launch Starlink services.
Overall, Starlink operates its services in over 100 countries and operates over 7,000 LEO satellites. It aims to operate 40,000 low earth orbit satellites long-term.
Amid the financial problems of social media platform X and recent struggles of electric vehicle maker Tesla, Musk could enjoy a new financial boost from a Space X initial public offering. Another possibility, analysts say, is that Space X could spin off Starlink, which could launch its own IPO. Musk cofounded PayPal Holdings, another public company.
As it stands, Amazon looms as the biggest threat to Starlink, said Eversore ISI analyst Mark Mahney in a recent report.
"Kuiper is the only realistic challenger," said Mahaney.
Kuiper also is building a LEO satellite network. In addition, project Kuiper plans to use a network of ground-based antennas and fiber-optic network connections to deliver services. But Kuiper's satellite launches have been delayed. It uses Amazon's Blue Origin satellite launch service.
Starlink Financial Challenges
Both Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper face financial challenges, analysts say. The expected useful life of LEO satellites is 5 to 7 years and they need to be replaced.
Meanwhile, Musk's Starlink service could face political fallout from the Tesla founder's role in the Trump administration's cost-cutting DOGE program. Eutelstat has told analysts it could make gains in Ukraine and other countries.
Further, Google shut down Loon, which aimed to provide internet access in remote areas using high-altitude balloons, in 2021.
Other projects at Alphabet's moonshot factory include supply chain sensor developer Chorus, electric grid firm Tapestry, drug developer Isomorphic Labs and ocean protection organization Tidal.
On the stock market today, Google stock fell 1.4% to 162.69.
Google stock has retreated 13% in 2025. Amazon stock is down 8%. Tesla stock has retreated 32%.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on X, formerly Twitter, @reinhardtk_tech for updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
