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 "excerpt": "Kymeta Corporation is an American satellite-communications company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, making flat-panel antennas that steer the beam electronically without moving parts.",
 "snippet": "Kymeta Corporation is an American satellite-communications company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, making flat-panel antennas that steer the beam electronically without moving parts.",
 "node": "technology.computing.hardware",
 "markdown": "# Kymeta\n\n**Kymeta Corporation** is an American satellite-communications company founded in 2012 and headquartered in [Redmond, Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/redmond-washington), that manufactures flat-panel, electronically steered antennas based on engineered metamaterials<sup>[1](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-wins-onr-contract)</sup>. Its terminals steer the satellite beam with software and liquid-crystal-tuned resonant elements rather than moving parts or phase-shifter arrays, giving mobile platforms such as vehicles, vessels, and unmanned systems connectivity on the move across GEO and LEO satellite networks<sup>[2](https://www.kymetacorp.com/why-kymeta/innovation)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.everythingrf.com/interviews/details/interview-with-ryan-stevenson-from-kymeta)</sup>.\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Founded / headquarters | 2012; Redmond, Washington<sup>[1](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-wins-onr-contract)</sup> |\n| Core technology | Reconfigurable holographic metasurface antenna: subwavelength metamaterial elements tuned to form and steer the beam without moving parts<sup>[2](https://www.kymetacorp.com/why-kymeta/innovation)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.054048)</sup> |\n| First product | mTenna<sup>u7</sup> antenna and KyWay terminal, announced at SATELLITE 2017, with commercial trials from May 2017<sup>[5](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/commercial-availability-announced-for-the-worlds-first-truly-flat-satellite-antenna-for-use-across-a-broad-range-of-markets-enabling-global-mobile-connectivity-300418782.html)</sup> |\n| u8 terminal | 82 cm active combined RX/TX aperture; Ku-band receive 10.7–12.75 GHz; 35 W typical power without modem and RF chain; 90 × 90 × 12.1 cm<sup>[6](https://profentech.com/wp-content/uploads/Kymeta-U8-Antenna-Terminal.pdf)</sup> |\n| Frequency coverage | Liquid-crystal holographic antenna operates the full Ku downlink (10.7–12.75 GHz) and uplink (13.75–14.5 GHz) in full duplex within a 75° scan cone<sup>[7](https://kymeta-corp.files.svdcdn.com/production/files/Electronically_Steerable_Antennas_for_Future_Heterogeneous_Communication_Networks_Review_and_Perspectives.pdf?dm=1735945812)</sup> |\n| Power comparison | The antenna itself uses approximately 15 W, whereas phased-array antennas of similar size consume nearly 1 kW<sup>[8](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/05/44/27/00183/09-2019.pdf)</sup> |\n| Recent defense work | Three-year U.S. Office of Naval Research contract (April 14, 2026) to develop the KuKa multi-band terminal, with four concurrent full-duplex Ku- and Ka-band beams from a single aperture<sup>[1](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-wins-onr-contract)</sup> |\n\n## Technology\n\nKymeta's antennas are metasurface antennas: a flat aperture covered with thousands of subwavelength metamaterial elements, each behaving as a polarizable dipole that couples energy from an attached waveguide into radiation<sup>[4](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.054048)</sup>. Unlike a phased array, the design needs no active phase shifters or per-element amplifiers; reconfigurability comes from shifting the resonance frequency of individual elements, so the beam is formed by tuning some elements while leaving others detuned, producing a hologram-like aperture pattern<sup>[4](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.054048)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/27696-metamaterial-advances-for-radar-and-communications)</sup>.\n\n**Holographic beam forming.** The company describes its approach as software-enabled holographic beam forming: dynamic, precise satellite tracking with no moving parts, allowing rapid adaptation to changing conditions and network switching through software updates<sup>[2](https://www.kymetacorp.com/why-kymeta/innovation)</sup>. The radiating elements are tuned by liquid crystal, and because the technology follows the flat-panel display industry, Kymeta can use the display industry's high-volume pick-and-place machines, capable of 30,000 die transfers per hour, to manufacture apertures at scale<sup>[10](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/the-need-for-a-full-duplex-electronically-steered-antenna)</sup>.\n\n**System architecture.** Compared with an active electronically scanned array (AESA), which uses thousands of feed points, the Kymeta design has a single antenna feed point with one high-power amplifier and one low-noise amplifier, greatly reducing system complexity and letting the company use best-of-breed amplifier technologies such as GaAs for the LNA and GaN for the HPA<sup>[3](https://www.everythingrf.com/interviews/details/interview-with-ryan-stevenson-from-kymeta)</sup>. The trade-off is loss in the passive metasurface: to reach an equivalent gain-to-noise-temperature ratio, a Kymeta terminal tends to need a somewhat larger aperture than an equivalent active ESA<sup>[3](https://www.everythingrf.com/interviews/details/interview-with-ryan-stevenson-from-kymeta)</sup>. A 2015 company analysis put the power consumption and cost of the approach at roughly 1% of a phased array and 10% of a gimbaled dish solution<sup>[11](https://kymeta-corp.files.svdcdn.com/production/files/SID_2015_Stevenson.pdf?dm=1735945777)</sup>.\n\n## Origins\n\nThe technology descends from metamaterials research at [Duke University](https://www.edgepedia.org/duke-university). Physicist Victor Veselago proposed in 1967 that materials with both negative permittivity and permeability could exist; Sir [John Pendry](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-pendry) published work on man-made electromagnetic materials in 1999; and Duke physics professor [David R. Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-r-smith) demonstrated the first metamaterial structure in 2001. In 2008, Smith began initial development of the metamaterials that became Kymeta's core technology<sup>[12](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/)</sup>. Kymeta engineers have published the underlying antenna theory in the peer-reviewed literature, including an analysis of the waveguide-fed metasurface antenna in *Physical Review Applied* (2017) and a discrete-dipole model for control and optimization of the holographic metamaterial antenna in *Applied Optics*<sup>[4](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.054048)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://opg.optica.org/ao/abstract.cfm?uri=ao-53-25-5791)</sup>.\n\n## Products\n\nThe first commercial product line was the mTenna<sup>u7</sup> antenna with the KyWay terminal, opened for reservations at SATELLITE 2017<sup>[5](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/commercial-availability-announced-for-the-worlds-first-truly-flat-satellite-antenna-for-use-across-a-broad-range-of-markets-enabling-global-mobile-connectivity-300418782.html)</sup>. Before commercial release in late 2017, Kyway terminals underwent months-long sea trials aboard the superyachts S/Y Maltese Falcon and M/Y White Rose of Drachs, maintaining connection through pitch and roll and receiving remote software upgrades at sea<sup>[14](https://www.e3s.com/our-products/marine-multi-connectivity/kymeta-flat-panels/kymeta-sea-trials/)</sup>.\n\nThe current flagship is the **u8** family, a flat-panel, full-duplex, electronically scanned Ku-band terminal with an 82 cm active aperture, integrated antenna control unit, and IP66-rated outdoor enclosure<sup>[6](https://profentech.com/wp-content/uploads/Kymeta-U8-Antenna-Terminal.pdf)</sup>. Variants target different markets: the Peregrine u8 is a maritime terminal designed for the Eutelsat OneWeb LEO network with hybrid cellular capability and less than 100 W nominal power; the Hawk u8 is an economical unit preconfigured for either LEO or GEO networks<sup>[15](https://www.kymetacorp.com/products/peregrine-u8)</sup>. The compact Kestrel u5, built on the company's third-generation platform, switches its beam in less than 1 millisecond and averages less than 100 W with a 200 W maximum<sup>[3](https://www.everythingrf.com/interviews/details/interview-with-ryan-stevenson-from-kymeta)</sup>.\n\n## Partnerships and defense programs\n\n**OneWeb.** In December 2021, Kymeta and OneWeb signed a joint development agreement to build a u8-based flat-panel terminal compatible with OneWeb's LEO constellation, supporting communications on the pause and, later, on the move for military, government, maritime, and enterprise customers<sup>[16](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-and-oneweb-partner-to-develop-flat-panel-user-terminal-for-leo-network-to-support-land-fixed-solutions-paving-the-way-to-future-land-mobile-and-maritime-mobility-solutions)</sup>.\n\n**U.S. Navy and ONR.** On April 14, 2026, Kymeta Government & Defense won a three-year development contract from the [Office of Naval Research](https://www.edgepedia.org/office-of-naval-research) to mature its KuKa architecture: multi-band connectivity with four concurrent full-duplex beams in Ku- and Ka-band frequencies from a single antenna aperture, first demonstrated in April 2025<sup>[1](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-wins-onr-contract)</sup>. The resulting KuKa 8 Series terminal uses a shared aperture across both bands rather than dividing the antenna into multiple panels, which the company says yields higher RF efficiency, narrower beamwidths, lower power consumption, and a lower heat signature for naval vessels and unmanned systems<sup>[1](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-wins-onr-contract)</sup>. The contract win was followed by a purchase order from Bascom Hunter for the first KuKa terminal prototype, to be delivered for testing starting in Q2 2026 under a SBIR Phase III program<sup>[1](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-wins-onr-contract)</sup>.\n\n**Other defense work.** Kymeta was selected as the multi-orbit SATCOM provider for the U.S. Army's Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) Pilot in Q3 2025<sup>[1](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-wins-onr-contract)</sup>. In May 2026, the company joined the Red Cat Futures Initiative, with Red Cat's maritime division Blue Ops integrating Kymeta's communications technology into its Variant 7 uncrewed surface vessel to maintain connectivity across dynamic maritime environments<sup>[17](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-joins-red-cat-futures-initiative)</sup>.\n\n## Company history\n\nRick Bergman, previously Executive Vice President of Computing and Graphics at AMD and [President](https://www.edgepedia.org/president-corporate-title) and CEO of Synaptics from 2011 to 2019, became Kymeta's President and CEO effective April 1, 2024, succeeding the retiring Doug Hutcheson; Nicole Piasecki was elected Chair of the Board, and the company closed a Series D funding round to ramp production of the Osprey u8 HGL<sup>[18](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-unveils-leadership-transition-to-drive-next-phase-of-innovation-and-growth)</sup>.\n\n## References\n\n1. [Kymeta Wins ONR Contract to Advance Ku/Ka Multi-Band SATCOM Technology, Kymeta Corp (April 14, 2026)](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-wins-onr-contract)\n2. [A Culture of Innovation, Kymeta Corp](https://www.kymetacorp.com/why-kymeta/innovation)\n3. [Interview with Ryan Stevenson from Kymeta, Everything RF](https://www.everythingrf.com/interviews/details/interview-with-ryan-stevenson-from-kymeta)\n4. [D. R. Smith et al., \"Analysis of a Waveguide-Fed Metasurface Antenna,\" Physical Review Applied 8, 054048 (2017)](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.054048)\n5. [Commercial Availability Announced for the World's First Truly Flat Satellite Antenna, PR Newswire (March 7, 2017)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/commercial-availability-announced-for-the-worlds-first-truly-flat-satellite-antenna-for-use-across-a-broad-range-of-markets-enabling-global-mobile-connectivity-300418782.html)\n6. [Kymeta u8 Antenna Terminal specifications](https://profentech.com/wp-content/uploads/Kymeta-U8-Antenna-Terminal.pdf)\n7. [Electronically Steerable Antennas for Future Heterogeneous Communication Networks: Review and Perspectives](https://kymeta-corp.files.svdcdn.com/production/files/Electronically_Steerable_Antennas_for_Future_Heterogeneous_Communication_Networks_Review_and_Perspectives.pdf?dm=1735945812)\n8. [Kymeta MSAT vs Phased Array (2019)](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/05/44/27/00183/09-2019.pdf)\n9. [Metamaterial Advances for Radar and Communications, Microwave Journal (2017 correction)](https://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/27696-metamaterial-advances-for-radar-and-communications)\n10. [The Need for a Full-Duplex Electronically Steered Antenna, Kymeta Corp](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/the-need-for-a-full-duplex-electronically-steered-antenna)\n11. [Rethinking Wireless Communications: Advanced Antenna Design, SID 2015 (Stevenson)](https://kymeta-corp.files.svdcdn.com/production/files/SID_2015_Stevenson.pdf?dm=1735945777)\n12. [About Kymeta, Kymeta Corp](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/)\n13. [M. Johnson et al., \"Discrete-dipole approximation model for control and optimization of a holographic metamaterial antenna,\" Applied Optics 53, 5791 (2014)](https://opg.optica.org/ao/abstract.cfm?uri=ao-53-25-5791)\n14. [Kymeta Kyway Sea Trials, e3 Systems](https://www.e3s.com/our-products/marine-multi-connectivity/kymeta-flat-panels/kymeta-sea-trials/)\n15. [Peregrine u8, Kymeta Corp](https://www.kymetacorp.com/products/peregrine-u8)\n16. [Kymeta and OneWeb Partner to Develop Flat Panel User Terminal for LEO Network, Kymeta Corp (December 1, 2021)](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-and-oneweb-partner-to-develop-flat-panel-user-terminal-for-leo-network-to-support-land-fixed-solutions-paving-the-way-to-future-land-mobile-and-maritime-mobility-solutions)\n17. [Kymeta Joins Red Cat Futures Initiative, Kymeta Corp (May 14, 2026)](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-joins-red-cat-futures-initiative)\n18. [Kymeta Unveils Leadership Transition, Kymeta Corp (March 11, 2024)](https://www.kymetacorp.com/about/news-insights/kymeta-unveils-leadership-transition-to-drive-next-phase-of-innovation-and-growth)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Computing and digital systems › Computer hardware*\n\n*Initially written Oct 15, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
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 "credit": "\"Kymeta\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/kymeta. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.",
 "credit_md": "\"[Kymeta](https://www.edgepedia.org/kymeta)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/kymeta](https://www.edgepedia.org/kymeta). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).",
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 "speakable": "Kymeta Corporation is an American satellite-communications company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, making flat-panel antennas that steer the beam electronically without moving parts."
}