Diffraqtion is Building Quantum Camera-Enabled Satellite and Telescope Constellations

Diffraqtion, an MIT and University of Maryland spinout building the next generation of visual AI hardware and software to make satellites and machines see further and think faster, led by Johannes Galatsanos, Christine Yi-Ting Wang, Saikat Guha, Mark Michael, and others, has raised its pre-seed funding round, 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 supporting space situational awareness capabilities. The total amount of funding raised between dilutive and non-dilutive funding is $4.2 million.

Diffraqtion has developed a first-of-its-kind quantum camera that allows satellites and telescopes to see farther while processing visual data significantly faster than traditional systems. Built on Prof. Guha’s NASA and DARPA-backed research, the technology delivers up to 20× higher resolution and 1,000× faster processing, enabling ultra-high-resolution imaging at a fraction of the cost of current satellite and ground-based telescope systems.

Diffraqtion’s quantum imaging enables low-cost, high-precision satellite constellations for space domain awareness, defense, and Earth observation. The company recently won SLUSH 100 and TechConnect’s 2025 Best Space Innovation award, and is advancing its technology through the U.S. Space Force Apollo Accelerator. On-sky demonstrations with the University of California Observatories begin in early 2026, followed by space-based tests.

Space-based infrastructure supports global communications, navigation, defense, and Earth-focused applications such as agriculture and disaster response. Despite rising launch activity, continuous visibility across orbital and atmospheric environments remains limited. Diffraqtion’s quantum camera closes this gap by tracking smaller, faster objects and delivering ultra-high-resolution imaging for critical use cases.

Quantum sensing introduces new capabilities for safeguarding orbital assets, and Diffraqtion’s blend of photonics, quantum engineering, and practical space-defense expertise positions the technology for operational deployment. The convergence of AI, quantum innovation, and space technologies signals substantial value creation, with Diffraqtion marking a significant step forward in intelligent vision for space, defense, and autonomous systems.