Cailabs

Cailabs, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Rennes, France, is a deep tech photonics company that has become a leading manufacturer of optical ground stations (OGS) using its proprietary Multi-Plane Light Conversion (MPLC) technology to overcome the primary barrier to ground-based free-space optical communications: atmospheric turbulence that scrambles laser beam wavefronts and dramatically reduces link budget.

Atmospheric turbulence, caused by temperature gradients in the air column between a satellite and the ground, distorts incoming laser beams through a phenomenon called scintillation — causing rapid intensity fluctuations and phase errors that severely degrade optical link performance. Traditional adaptive optics systems that correct for turbulence require expensive deformable mirrors, wavefront sensors, and control electronics costing hundreds of thousands of euros. Cailabs' MPLC technology takes a different approach: custom-designed optical plates that passively transform the distorted incoming wavefront into a clean single-mode fiber-compatible output through successive spatial light transformations. This enables cost-effective turbulence mitigation without deformable mirror complexity.

Cailabs' OASIS optical ground station product line integrates MPLC turbulence mitigation with high-efficiency telescope coupling, enabling ground stations to receive 10+ Gbps downlinks from LEO laser communication satellites (e.g., from terminals built by Mynaric, Tesat, or Hensoldt). The company sold approximately 10 optical ground stations by 2025 and reported +113% year-over-year revenue growth, reflecting rapid market adoption as optical intersatellite links become standard on next-generation Earth observation and broadband constellations.

Cailabs raised €57 million in a 2025 funding round led by the European Investment Bank (EIB), with co-investors including Bpifrance and deep tech venture funds. The company competes with Safran, DLR ground station programs, and telescope integrators in the emerging OGS market.