Taara
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersSunnyvale, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Taara does
Taara is a Sunnyvale, California-based telecommunications equipment company that delivers high-speed wireless connectivity using free-space optical communication, transmitting data through the air via narrow beams of near-infrared light instead of buried fiber or licensed radio spectrum. Its portfolio centers on three hardware products — Lightbridge (20 Gbps full-duplex over distances up to 20 km), Lightbridge Pro (carrier-grade with 99.999% uptime and integrated hitless failover to RF or fiber backup), and Taara Beam (a compact solid-state device delivering up to 25 Gbps over 10 km) — all built on the Taara Photonics Platform, a silicon photonics chip integrating an optical phased array of over 1,000 miniature emitters that enables solid-state beam steering without moving mechanical parts.
The company serves telecom operators (T-Mobile, SoftBank, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Digicel, Liberty Latin America, Liquid Intelligent Technologies), internet service providers, enterprises, governments (City of Rio de Janeiro), academic institutions (KAUST), and media production customers (Cintegral for Amazon, Netflix, Disney), with deployments across more than 20 countries in Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands, Europe, East Asia, and North America. Taara's technology originated as Project Loon research inside Alphabet's X Moonshot Factory, spun out as an independent company in March 2025 with Series X Capital as lead investor and Alphabet retaining a minority stake, and is currently raising a Series B round.
Taara makes money primarily through quote-based hardware sales of Lightbridge, Lightbridge Pro, and Taara Beam units under multi-year contracts with telecom operators, enterprises, and governments, complemented by recurring software and management services via FCAPS-compliant OSS/BSS integration, network management capabilities, and support. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales to operators and government accounts with a layered channel program (Digicomm International as master VAR for the Americas, plus StarTouch, CTIconnect, SofreDigital, Toffs Technologies, Entelar, Econet, and others for regional reach) and event-driven demand generation at Mobile World Congress, NAB Show, and other telecom conferences. The company's value proposition centers on replacing fiber trenching with hours-long over-the-air deployments that avoid right-of-way permitting, licensed spectrum costs, and environmental disruption while delivering fiber-class capacity.
Taara firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Taara
- Legal name
- Taara Connect, Inc.
- Website
- https://taaraconnect.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Taara industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wireless Optical Communication Equipment
- NAICS
- Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing (33429)
- SIC
- Communications Equipment, Nec (3669), Computer Communications Equipment (3576)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Optical Transponders & Muxponders (Coherent/Pluggable) (HDAFADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Optoelectronic Emitters (LED/Laser/VCSEL) (HDAHALAL), Optoelectronic Receivers & Transceivers (Photodetectors/Optical Modules) (HDAHALAM), Active Optical Cables (AOC) & Optical Interconnects (HDAFAEAG)
Keywords
Where Taara is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sunnyvale
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Taara business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Hardware Product Sales: Taara sells its Lightbridge and Beam devices as hardware products to telecom operators, enterprises, and governments for network connectivity deployments.
- Enterprise/SaaS Solutions: Lightbridge Pro and Beam products include network management, OSS/BSS integration, and support services, potentially generating recurring service revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Enterprise hardware pricing |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Taara product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Taara designs, manufactures, and sells free-space optical communication hardware that uses beams of light to transmit data through the air at fiber-like speeds without cables or licensed spectrum. The company offers three core hardware products — Lightbridge (20 Gbps up to 20 km), Lightbridge Pro (carrier-grade with 99.999% uptime and hitless failover), and Taara Beam (25 Gbps compact device up to 10 km) — all built on its proprietary silicon photonics platform, sold to telecom operators, mobile carriers, ISPs, governments, and enterprises.
Product overview
Taara offers a portfolio of wireless optical communication products that use beams of light to deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity through the air without fiber cables or licensed spectrum. The product line consists of four main offerings: Lightbridge (original product for long-distance connectivity up to 20 km at 20 Gbps), Lightbridge Pro (carrier-grade version with 99.999% uptime and automatic failover), Taara Beam (compact device for urban/enterprise use up to 25 Gbps over 10 km), and the Taara Photonics Platform (silicon photonics foundation that powers these solutions). The products are designed to complement fiber and wireless radio infrastructure, enabling rapid deployment in challenging terrain, urban environments, and enterprise settings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Lightbridge Wireless optical connectivity product using beams of light to deliver high-speed broadband across long distances and challenging terrain, designed for telecom operators and fiber network operators. Supports up to 20 Gbps full-duplex throughput over distances up to 20 km with sub-5ms latency.
- Lightbridge Pro Carrier-grade wireless optical connectivity solution offering 99.999% uptime with 20 Gbps full-duplex throughput, designed for mobile backhaul, urban densification, enterprise, and data centers. Includes integrated hitless switchover to RF or fiber backup paths and native multiband support with in-band management.
- Taara Beam Compact wireless optical connectivity device built on the Taara Photonics Platform. Delivers up to 25 Gbps bidirectional throughput over distances up to 10 km using solid-state optical phased array technology. Designed for urban, enterprise, and mesh network deployments including backhaul, fronthaul, and mesh configurations.
- Taara Photonics Platform Silicon photonics-based wireless optical communications platform that integrates optical transmission components onto a single chip, enabling solid-state control of light. Powers Taara's light-based connectivity solutions and serves as the foundation for advanced systems beyond connectivity, including those for operators, enterprises, and data infrastructure.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20 Gbps full-duplex connectivity over 20 km distances
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Taara
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Taara technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Taara partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- CintegralcorePartnership to deploy Taara's wireless optical connectivity technology for remote film and TV productions. The collaboration enables real-time 4K JPEGXS and 8K RAW video transmission between filming locations without cable infrastructure, powering Cintegral's ST 2110 Fiber-over-Air solution for major studios including Amazon, Netflix, and Disney.
- City of Rio de JaneiroflagshipDeploying world's first wireless optical mesh network with 20+ links to provide high-speed connectivity to schools, hospitals, and city offices in underserved areas of Rio. Part of Rio's AI City vision initiative.
- Bharti AirtelcoreDeployed Taara technology in Andhra Pradesh, India to deliver high-speed data in areas where fiber networks are difficult to deploy. Expanded to multiple cities across India.
- T-MobilecoreUsing Taara technology as part of wireless backhaul network. Enabled reliable 5G connectivity for hundreds of thousands of festival attendees.
- SoftBankcoreCarrier partner using Taara technology for network connectivity and capacity reinforcement.
- DigicelcoreDeploying Taara links to deliver high-speed internet to island nations in Pacific (Fiji, Tonga) and Caribbean regions, improving mobile backhaul connectivity.
- Liberty Latin AmericacoreDeploying Taara technology through Liberty Networks to strengthen triple redundancy connectivity in the Eastern Caribbean region.
- Liquid Intelligent TechnologiescoreAfrican telecom operator deploying Taara technology across their network infrastructure.
- VodafonecoreTesting drones equipped with Taara Lightbridge for disaster recovery scenarios at MWC Barcelona.
- StarTouch (Declaration Networks Group)coreU.S. channel partner offering Taara Lightbridge solutions to enterprise, public sector, and carrier customers. Provides 20 Gbps connectivity for factories, campuses, retail hubs, and data-heavy enterprise sites.
- Digicomm InternationalcoreMaster value-added reseller for the Americas region, accelerating delivery of Taara Lightbridge solutions to broadband, enterprise, and municipal networks.
- NMSurfcoreFixed wireless provider in New Mexico deploying Taara Lightbridge to instantly upgrade middle-mile connections in La Bajada area.
- KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)coreEstablished high-speed maritime communication link in the Red Sea Islands using Taara wireless optical technology.
- Google (internal customer)coreGoogle uses Taara technology to connect its Mountain View campus to a nearby submarine cable landing point.
- X Development / Alphabet's X (Moonshot Factory)flagshipParent organization and spin-out source. Taara originated as Project Loon technology and graduated from X in March 2025. Alphabet retains minority stake while Taara operates independently.
- GFiber (Google)coreGoogle Fiber division working with Taara to demonstrate 20 Gbps connections in San Francisco, performing on par with top-tier wired networks.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Taara competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Nokia (Anyhaul Microwave): Nokia's Anyhaul portfolio of microwave and mmWave backhaul solutions is sold to the same tier-1 mobile operators as Taara (T-Mobile, Vodafone, Airtel). As a broad incumbent, Nokia competes with Taara for mobile backhaul upgrade cycles despite offering a fundamentally different technology.
- Ceragon Networks: Israel-headquartered global leader in wireless backhaul solutions, primarily microwave and mmWave. Ceragon is a broad incumbent competing for the same mobile operator backhaul capex that Taara targets, with a much larger installed base and broader product portfolio.
- Ericsson (Microwave Backhaul): Ericsson's MINI-LINK microwave backhaul portfolio is deployed across most tier-1 mobile carriers globally. Ericsson competes for the same operator backhaul budgets Taara targets, with deeper carrier relationships and a broader end-to-end RAN and transport portfolio.
- Cambium Networks: US-listed provider of wireless networking solutions for service providers, enterprises, and industrial customers. Cambium's fixed wireless and point-to-point products compete with Taara in the broader wireless backhaul and last-mile connectivity market.
Direct peers
- EC System: Czech Republic-based manufacturer of free-space optical transmission equipment for telecom operators and enterprises. EC System sells point-to-point FSO links that compete with Taara in European and emerging-market carrier deployments.
- Siklu: Israel-based provider of millimeter wave and FSO wireless backhaul systems for mobile operators, ISPs, and enterprises. Siklu competes for the same mobile backhaul and gigabit connectivity budgets as Taara, particularly in dense urban and 5G small-cell deployments.
- fSONA Networks: Canadian manufacturer of free-space optical communication systems for carrier, enterprise, and government customers. fSONA's point-to-point FSO products are functionally analogous to Taara's Lightbridge links, targeting last-mile and metro connectivity gaps.
- LightPointe: San Diego-based manufacturer of free-space optical and millimeter wave wireless backhaul systems. LightPointe is the most direct competitor to Taara, selling comparable FSO point-to-point links to telecom carriers and enterprises for backhaul, building connectivity, and redundancy.
- Transcelestial: Singapore-headquartered developer of laser-based wireless communication networks for terrestrial and aerial backhaul. Transcelestial targets carrier and enterprise customers with point-to-point laser links similar to Taara's Lightbridge and Beam products.
- CableFree (Wireless Excellence): UK-based vendor of free-space optical and millimeter wave wireless systems for telecom and enterprise backhaul. CableFree's FSO product line directly competes with Taara's Lightbridge family for carrier-grade point-to-point optical links.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Taara social profiles
Digital presenceTaara financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Taara leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Taara funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Taara M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Taara
What does Taara do?
Taara designs, manufactures, and sells free-space optical communication hardware that uses beams of light to transmit data through the air at fiber-like speeds without cables or licensed spectrum. The company offers three core hardware products — Lightbridge (20 Gbps up to 20 km), Lightbridge Pro (carrier-grade with 99.999% uptime and hitless failover), and Taara Beam (25 Gbps compact device up to 10 km) — all built on its proprietary silicon photonics platform, sold to telecom operators, mobile carriers, ISPs, governments, and enterprises.
Is Taara a public or private company?
Taara is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Taara founded?
Taara was founded in 2017. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Taara based?
Taara is headquartered in Sunnyvale, United States, in the North America region.
How does Taara make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Hardware Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are enterprise/SaaS Solutions.
Who are Taara's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Nokia (Anyhaul Microwave), Ceragon Networks, Ericsson (Microwave Backhaul) and Cambium Networks. Direct peers are EC System, Siklu, fSONA Networks, LightPointe, Transcelestial and CableFree (Wireless Excellence).
Does Taara have an API?
No public API is recorded for Taara.
What industry is Taara in?
Taara's product category is Wireless Optical Communication Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAFADAB, Optical Transponders & Muxponders (Coherent/Pluggable), with a secondary code of HDAHALAL, Optoelectronic Emitters (LED/Laser/VCSEL). Its NAICS code is 33429 and its SIC code is 3669.