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The Japanese conglomerate has invested $15 million in US-based startup Sceye, which plans to build airships carrying radio communication equipment
Today, SoftBak has announced ambitious plans to begin offering pre-commercial High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) services in Japan in 2026 through a new partnership with US startup Sceye.
HAPS is an emerging form of non-terrestrial communication, using unmanned vehicles flying in the stratosphere to deliver connectivity to those on the ground below.
Sceye’s solutions takes the form of a large silver airship filled with helium. This unmanned platform can remain in position for long periods of time, delivering connectivity as well as climate data.The company has reportedly completed over 20 successful test flights in collaboration with various private businesses, as well as with the US government.
The deal will see SoftBank take a $15 million stake in Sceye, resulting in the startup being valued at roughly $580 million.
SoftBank has long been a major proponent of HAPS for years, beginning its own HAPS project in 2017. The most notable result of this research has been the creation of Sunglider, the world’s largest solar-powered, uncrewed aircraft system, developed in partnership with AeroVironment. Sunglider performed its first test flight last year.
SoftBank has also previously explored alternative inflatable HAPS devices, with their subsidiary HAPS Mobile having been one of the major backers of Alphabet’s doomed Project Loon. The project was ultimately closed down in 2021, with the path to commercialisation having proved more difficult and expensive than anticipated.
Today, SoftBank says it hopes to use a combination of both lighter-than-air (LTA) HAPS, like Sceye’s balloon, and heavier-than-air (HTA) solutions, like Sunglider, to provide reliable connectivity for drones and UAVs, as well as for disaster relief.
“As a global pioneer, SoftBank has been developing HAPS-based services since 2017. In addition to our research and development for HTA-type HAPS, I’m extremely pleased we’ll be launching LTA-type HAPS pre-commercial services in 2026 through our new partnership with Sceye,” said Junichi Miyakawa, President & CEO, SoftBank. “The stratospheric-based, wide area telecommunications of HAPS will play a key role in expanding network area coverage to areas that are difficult to reach with existing mobile network infrastructure, and it will also provide a means of restoring communications when large-scale disasters strike.”
HAPS have many attractive features for telecoms operators. Like satellites, they offer broad coverage of areas typically hard to reach with terrestrial connectivity. However, unlike satellites, HAPS operate far closer to the end customer, making it easier to offer higher quality connectivity with lower latency. They can also typically be deployed at relatively short notice, making them an excellent way solution for boosting connectivity when terrestrial networks are damaged or overwhelmed, such as during natural disasters.
But despite these many prospective benefits, commercial use cases for HAPS have been few and far between. These projects face a myriad of regulatory and technical challenges, from energy storage to performance during poor weather.
Nonetheless, numerous major operators continue to explore this space, including NTT Docomo, BT, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Telefonica and Orange.
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