Unistellar is taking a new step toward realizing its vision of becoming the world leader in consumer astronomy. By welcoming an investment from Nikon, the company is enhancing the synergy between Unistellar’s imaging and space observation know-how and Nikon’s optical and industrial expertise.
Unistellar, which already has a strong presence and distribution in the United States, Europe, Japan, and more than 60 other countries, has not only disrupted the world’s amateur astronomy market in recent years, but has also enabled strong growth within the sector, thanks to the emergence of smart telescopes that ease the observation of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters even in the middle of a city.
Nikon and Unistellar are building on the success of their R&D collaboration, which was announced in July 2021. The eVscope 2, Unistellar’s first smart telescope that incorporates Nikon’s technological contribution, has already achieved international success, receiving an innovation award at CES 2022. The reaffirmed partnership between the two companies will allow Unistellar to develop new smart telescopes and bring them to market more quickly, bolstering its international growth.
“Nikon is proud to be working with Unistellar on innovative solutions to develop the smart telescope market” said Yasuhiro Ohmura, Senior Vice President, of Nikon. “Nikon ambitions to contribute to the advancement of science by bringing the excitement of astronomical observation to all.”
Citizen science programs relying on Unistellar smart telescopes have already made significant contributions to our understanding of space — from exoplanets to near-Earth asteroids and comets— through collaborations with leading scientific organizations such as NASA and the SETI Institute.
“Unistellar is proud to welcome this investment from Nikon, a company that shares our vision of providing everyone with an opportunity to experience outer space by exponentially expanding the smart telescope market,” explains Laurent Marfisi, co-founder and CEO of Unistellar. “The synergies between our respective areas of expertise will allow an even larger audience to marvel at the wonders of space observation and the thrill of major astronomical discoveries.”
From upper left: Yoshihiro Maki, Muneaki Tokunari, Antonin Borot, Yasuhiro Ohmura, Kosuke Kawaura
Front side : Arnaud Malvache, Toshikazu Umatate, Laurent Marfisi
Mr. Arnaud Malvache (Unistellar, Co-founder and CEO)
Mr. Laurent Marfisi (Unistellar, Co-founder and co-CEO)
Mr. Antonin Borot (Unistellar, Co-founder and CPTO)
Mr. Toshikazu Umatate (Nikon, President)
Mr. Muneaki Tokunari (Nikon, Executive Vice President)
Mr. Yasuhiro Ohmura (Nikon, Senior Vice President)
Mr. Yoshihiro Maki (Nikon, Corporate Vice President)
Mr. Kosuke Kawaura (Nikon Vision, President)