Quantum camera startup plans satellite and telescope constellations

Written by Copernical Team Wednesday, 14 January 2026 07:17

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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 14, 2026

Diffraqtion, a space startup spun out of MIT and the University of Maryland, has closed a pre-seed funding round to advance satellite constellations and telescope systems powered by a novel quantum camera. The round is led by QDNL Participations, with participation from milemark+ capital, Aether VC, ADIN, Offline Ventures, and a non-dilutive DARPA SBIR Direct-to-Phase 2 contract that supports sp

by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 14, 2026

Diffraqtion, a space startup spun out of MIT and the University of Maryland, has closed a pre-seed funding round to advance satellite constellations and telescope systems powered by a novel quantum camera. The round is led by QDNL Participations, with participation from milemark+ capital, Aether VC, ADIN, Offline Ventures, and a non-dilutive DARPA SBIR Direct-to-Phase 2 contract that supports space situational awareness capabilities, bringing the total between dilutive and non-dilutive funding to 4.2 million dollars.

The company has developed a first-of-its-kind quantum camera that enables satellites and telescopes to see farther and process visual information much faster than conventional systems. Built on research led by co-founder Prof. Saikat Guha in collaboration with NASA and DARPA, the technology is designed to deliver up to 20 times higher resolution and 1,000 times faster processing than traditional cameras and processors, enabling ultra-high-resolution imaging at a fraction of the cost of today's satellites and ground-based observatories.

Diffraqtion plans to use its quantum imaging architecture to field large constellations of low-cost, high-precision satellites for space domain awareness, defense, and commercial Earth observation. Targeted applications include orbital safety and intelligence, as well as agriculture, disaster response, and environmental monitoring, where improved spatial and temporal coverage can significantly enhance decision-making.

In parallel with closing the pre-seed round, the company has secured multiple high-profile recognitions. Diffraqtion took first place at the SLUSH 100 competition, selected from more than 1,000 startups, earning a 1.1 million dollar equity prize from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst, and also received TechConnect's 2025 Best Space Innovation award worth 100,000 dollars.

Diffraqtion is participating in the U.S. Space Force's Apollo Accelerator, where it is working with government stakeholders to demonstrate and refine its quantum imaging technology for operational use. The company plans on-sky demonstrations with the University of California Observatories in early 2026, followed by space-based demonstrations that will validate performance in orbit-like conditions.

"Space-based infrastructure powers our communications, navigation, and defense, and through Earth Imaging, it supports everything from agriculture to disaster response," said Diffraqtion CEO and Co-Founder Johannes Galatsanos. "Yet despite the boom in low-cost launches, we still lack clear, continuous visibility of what's happening above and below the atmosphere. Our quantum camera changes that: it tracks smaller, faster objects to keep assets in orbit safe, while delivering ultra-high-resolution imaging for critical applications on Earth."

"Quantum sensing can bring new capabilities to monitoring and protecting orbital infrastructure," said Chad Rigetti, Venture Partner at QDNL Participations. "Diffraqtion's team combines deep photonics and quantum expertise with practical defense and space insight - exactly what's needed to bring quantum imaging into operational reality."

The founding team brings experience spanning quantum technologies, photonics, space systems, and large-scale product development. Co-Founder and CEO Johannes Galatsanos has more than 15 years of experience in AI, quantum technologies, and operations, with prior roles as an MIT researcher, Executive Director at Novartis, and technical consultant leading data and AI products across manufacturing and R and D.

Co-Founder and CTO Christine Wang completed her Ph.D. at Harvard and postdoctoral work at EPFL and the Max Planck Institute, and has over two decades of experience designing and prototyping photonics and optics devices for defense and commercial systems, most recently as Director of Optics and Photonics at Riverside Research and Principal Scientist at Draper Labs. Co-Founder and CSA Prof. Saikat Guha is a leading quantum sensing scholar, IEEE Fellow, Distinguished Chair Professor at the University of Maryland, adjunct faculty at MIT, and Director of the NSF Center for Quantum Networks, with more than 100 papers and patents related to quantum technologies.

Head of Product Mark Michael previously co-founded and served as CTO of Kepler Communications, which has grown into one of North America's largest space companies. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Toronto and worked at IBM before building Kepler, bringing satellite communications and product scaling experience to Diffraqtion's roadmap.

Diffraqtion is headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, and is focused on building what it describes as the world's first quantum camera powering a large ultra-high-resolution imaging satellite network. By combining quantum photonics with AI-enabled processing, the company aims to enable machines to see further and analyze complex visual scenes faster, with implications for space exploration, defense, and intelligent systems across multiple sectors.