Space vs ground optical link differences

In this episode of Valley of Depth, we dive into Aalyria’s newly announced $100 million raise at a $1.3 billion valuation with cofounder and CTO Brian Barritt and unpack why investors are betting big on the future of networks that don’t sit still.

Aalyria is building two core technologies born inside Google: Spacetime, a software orchestration layer designed to manage networks in motion, and Tightbeam, a laser communications system delivering fiber-like speeds through the atmosphere. Together, they aim to solve one of the hardest infrastructure challenges in aerospace and defense: how to coordinate satellites, aircraft, drones, ships, and ground systems into a seamless “network of networks.”

The conversation spans laser physics, diffraction challenges in space-to-ground links, feeder link bottlenecks in mega-constellations, and why routing data across moving infrastructure is fundamentally different than routing across fixed networks.

We cover:

• Why Aalyria’s $100M raise signals a shift from R&D to deployment
• What “network in motion” really means and why it’s so hard
• How laser communications can reach 100 gigabits per second through atmosphere
• The technical challenge of Earth-to-space vs. space-to-Earth optical links
• Why interoperability has been a 40-year ambition inside the DoD
• How open APIs could become the connective tissue for JADC2 and beyond
• What resilience and roaming look like in hybrid satellite architectures
• Why optical ground stations require orchestration software to scale

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro
00:59 – The history of Aalyria
02:47 – Aalyria's Spacetime
06:09 – Building the connective software stack that links all of Aalyria's technology together
07:12 – The non-geostationary network problem
11:12 – The rebirth of Loon Technology
14:50 – How Tightbeam ties in to Aalyria
17:21 – 100gb/s through the atmosphere
19:42 – Brian's mandate as CTO when Aalyria forms
20:37 – State of Tightbeam at formation of Aalyria
22:17 – Why can't other companies do what Spacetime does yet?
26:05 – The significance of having different architectures with different source codes talk to each
other without modification
28:21 – How Aalyria integrates a new customer's network
31:05 – What is a long distance for Tightbeam and customer reaction to demos
32:48 – Who has Aalyria surprised the most with their demos?
34:28 – What has prevented the government from making a network of networks?
39:14 – Why wouldn't a space version of the Tightbeam terminal not work?
42:01 – How Aalyria is thinking about customer adopting Tightbeam
45:15 – Aalyria in the defense industry
47:05 – Aalyria's commercial aspects
48:30 – Aalyria's latest investment round
51:39 – Next milestones
53:00 – What keeps Brian up at night?
54:00 – Longterm vision for Aalyria
56:16 – What does Brian do for fun?
 

• Show notes •

Aalyria’s website — https://www.aalyria.com/
Mo's socials — https://x.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / 
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/
Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/
Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
 

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com