GPS has become one of the most critical infrastructures in the global economy. Every day, billions of smartphones, vehicles, planes, ships or logistics networks rely on signals emitted by satellite constellations to find their way in space. However, this infrastructure presents a weakness known since its origin: it works remarkably well outside, much less so inside.
Factories, warehouses, tunnels, hospitals, industrial sites, underground infrastructures or complex buildings are all areas where the precision of geolocation systems deteriorates significantly. It is precisely on this fault that Wheere was built. The Montpellier startup, founded in 2020 by Pierre-Arnaud Coquelin and Antoine Carrabin, announces a fundraising of 8.5 million euros intended to finance the next stages of its development.
Behind this operation lies a larger ambition, after having developed technology capable of locating people and equipment through several tens of meters of concrete, the company is now preparing its entry into the space sector. Its objective is to extend its system on a global scale thanks to a constellation of satellites and become a player in the Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) market, today dominated by large state infrastructures.
GPS works everywhere… except where the economy actually produces value
The rise of Industry 4.0 has brought to light a limit long considered secondary. Although GPS has revolutionized outdoor navigation, it remains poorly suited to closed environments.
To respond to this problem, manufacturers have multiplied alternative solutions. Bluetooth, WiFi, RFID, Ultra Wide Band (UWB), computer vision or sensor networks make it possible to locate equipment or people in specific environments. But these technologies each have their constraints: limited coverage, high installation costs, variable precision or dependence on complex infrastructures.
This fragmentation slows down the emergence of a universal standard. Especially since for manufacturers, the challenge goes beyond simple geolocation, it is now about tracking assets in real time, securing isolated workers, optimizing logistics flows or powering digital twins which are gradually becoming the nerve center of modern factories.
Technology designed to pass through walls
Wheere’s approach relies on the use of VHF frequencies capable of propagating better in complex environments than technologies typically used for localization. The company claims it can pass through up to fifty meters of concrete while maintaining metric accuracy. It also highlights a particularly light infrastructure: four antennas would be enough to cover one square kilometer.
This promise directly responds to the constraints of many industrial sites where the deployment of hundreds of beacons or sensors represents a significant investment.
The first deployments carried out with groups like TotalEnergies, EDF or L’Oréal today constitute the startup’s main credibility argument.
Does Wheere want to replace GPS or simply complement it?
If the company’s discourse regularly mentions sovereignty, the creation of a new global standard or even the construction of an alternative infrastructure, the uses currently addressed by Wheere appear more complementary than competitive with existing GNSS systems.
In the most realistic scenario, the startup would above all fill the main weakness of GPS.
The GPS would provide exterior location and Wheere would take over inside the buildings. The user would then benefit from positioning continuity between the different environments.
Why send this technology into space?
Wheere’s space ambition is to gradually eliminate dependence on terrestrial infrastructure.
Today, the technology relies on antennas installed on the sites to be covered, but tomorrow, the company wants to transmit its signals directly from space using a constellation of satellites in low orbit.
The project is part of the emerging segment of PNT infrastructures, for Positioning, Navigation and Timing. These systems constitute one of the invisible but essential layers of the digital economy. They not only make it possible to locate equipment but also to synchronize energy networks, telecoms infrastructures or financial systems.
For Wheere, the objective is to make its technology directly accessible to connected objects, robots, autonomous vehicles or, ultimately, smartphones without requiring specific infrastructure on the ground.
Moving from indoor to orbital, a change in dimension
This is also where the difficulties begin, because designing innovative radio technology is already a complex challenge, building space infrastructure represents another.
Today, Wheere develops location systems, software and radio frequency equipment. Tomorrow, the company will also have to master orbital operations, space payloads, constellation management and the associated regulatory constraints.
The recent history of European New Space shows that this transition is rarely linear; several startups have discovered that the skills necessary for the success of a space project differ greatly from those mobilized in the first phases of technological development.
This is why the orbital demonstration planned for the first half of 2027 is probably the most important milestone in the company’s roadmap.
The ASIC bet, the other strategic project
Another element catches our attention, the launch of an ASIC program. The goal is to develop a proprietary chip capable of directly integrating Wheere technology into third-party equipment. Smartphones, industrial robots, drones, autonomous vehicles or connected objects could thus natively embed the system.
The history of technology infrastructure shows that value often ends up finding its way into hardware components. In artificial intelligence, NVIDIA has established itself thanks to its chips. In geolocation, Qualcomm has become a central player thanks to the integration of GNSS technologies into its components.
For Wheere, the real competitive advantage of tomorrow could be as much in silicon as in satellites.
A transition lift before a much larger operation
The announced financing consists of 4.2 million euros in capital and 4.3 million euros in non-dilutive financing. The operation is more like a bridge than a real growth tour. This fundraising should allow the company to take the final steps before a Series A of 40 million euros.
Historical investors, Blast Club, Éric Larchevêque, Sofilaro and several business angels participated in the financing of this intermediate phase. But funds likely to participate in a Series A of this magnitude will require more than technology promises. The company itself identifies the two indicators which will determine the next stage, namely a successful orbital validation in 2027 and the signing of multi-year contracts.
