Wheere, the French company developing the first large-scale indoor geolocation solution, announced today that it is joining a consortium led by Thales Alenia Space.
ESA’s Celeste IOD mission is currently in its in-orbit demonstration phase. This initial phase will comprise a total constellation of 11 microsatellites in low Earth orbit, built by two European prime contractors, including 5 satellites supplied by Thales Alenia Space. This mission aims to demonstrate the extent to which LEO PNT (Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation, Timing) can enhance the resilience of current and future navigation services in medium Earth orbit and exponentially optimize their performance. The first two satellites in the demonstration constellation—one built by Thales Alenia Space and the other by GMV—were successfully launched on March 28, 2026.
The future Celeste constellation is intended to demonstrate how a multi-orbit architecture will be able to ensure high-precision positioning, robustness, and resistance to jamming and spoofing attacks, as well as low latency (ultra-fast signal acquisition), in conjunction, eventually, with Galileo and other satellite navigation systems.
Through its contribution to the IOD satellites built by Thales Alenia Space, Wheere is introducing a breakthrough innovation:the use of unmodulated low-frequency signals designed to overcome the historical limitations of GNSS systems, which do not work inside buildings.
Wheere is contributing a groundbreaking technological solution to the consortium led by prime contractor Thales Alenia Space: the first geolocation technology capable of overcoming physical obstacles to provide continuous tracking, both outdoors and indoors.
Wheere’s solution, which is currently deployed via a ground-based system of four antennas to cover and secure a one-square-kilometer site (industrial sites, hospitals, logistics hubs), is thus scaling up. Bolstered by a recent €8.5 million funding round from its long-standing shareholders, Wheere is accelerating the development of its technology and reaching a new milestone.
As part of a low-Earth orbit space infrastructure, the company aims to make indoor geolocation simple, universal, and immediately accessible anywhere in the world.
By approving this prototype, Europe could gain a significant lead by laying the groundwork for the world’s very first indoor geolocation solution.
Continuous, reliable, and autonomous indoor geolocation would be a significant asset for many key sectors:
“Joining the Thales Alenia Space consortium in this pioneering ESA program is a source of pride and a strong validation of our technological breakthrough. European technological sovereignty can no longer stop at the doorstep of buildings. By breaking through this historic barrier with our low-frequency signals, we are taking a decisive step: moving from ground-based deployment to space-based infrastructure to make Wheere the global standard for indoor geolocation. LEO-PNT is our springboard to offering Europe true strategic autonomy.”
Pierre-Arnaud Coquelin, CEO of Wheere
Founded in 2020 by Pierre-Arnaud Coquelin and Antoine Carrabin, Wheere is the French deep-tech company revolutionizing geolocation. Its patented low-frequency technology—the only one of its kind in the world—penetrates up to 50 meters of concrete to locate people and objects with metric-level precision, with no gap between the interior and exterior of buildings.
While its ground-based solution has already won over major industrial groups, the startup is now preparing to launch its own satellite constellation (LEO PNT) to set a new global standard.
Since its founding, Wheere has raised nearly €20 million, including an €11 million seed round in 2023 and €8.5 million in 2026.
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