TheTechno Optimist.

Qianfan (Thousand Sails)Shanghai Spacesail—Shanghai Spacecom closes $1.94 billion Series B funding at $6.96 billion valuationQianfan (Thousand Sails)Shanghai Spacesail—Qianfan constellation reaches ~248 satellites in orbitQianfan (Thousand Sails)Shanghai Spacesail—Spacesail demonstrates Direct-to-Cellular voice calls on unmodified smartphones using Qianfan satellites

Shanghai Spacesail

Qianfan megaconstellation, satellite internet, LEO constellation

CN$7B privateest. 2018gmsspace.com (opens gmsspace.com)Checked 10 Oct

The brief

Analyst view
  • Qianfan targets 15,000 LEO satellites by 2030 to rival Starlink for global coverage.
  • ~248 satellites in orbit as of October 2026; phase one targets 1,296 by 2027.
  • Series B raised $1.94B in August 2026 from $933M Series A; company valued at $6.96B.

Technical approach

As reported
Orbit

Polar constellation at 800 km

Satellites at 800 km polar orbits; higher than Starlink (550 km), lower than OneWeb.

Direct-to-Cellular

Smartphone voice and data

Demonstrated voice calls on unmodified smartphones June 2026; no special hardware.

Ground Terminals

Compact broadband equipment

Standard terminal 30 mm thick; 450 Mbps down, 150 Mbps up; no moving parts.

Primer