Founders Everywhere: Chris McLain
Chris McLain is the founder & President of AscendArc, a satellite communications company that designs and manufactures affordable, high-throughput geostationary (GEO) satellites.
Welcome to Founders Everywhere, where we highlight the incredible people behind the companies we’ve backed at Everywhere Ventures, a global pre-seed fund supported by a community of 500 founders and operators.
Geostationary satellites, or GEO satellites, orbit the Earth at a fixed position, providing continuous coverage to the same area. (Imagine a satellite dropping an invisible anchor to stay in one place above the Earth.) They are essential for communications, broadcasting, and internet services worldwide. Traditionally, these satellites have been massive, costly projects that take years to complete. AscendArc is taking a radically different approach by designing small, high-throughput GEO satellites at scale. The result is faster deployment, lower costs, and reliable global connectivity that’s accessible to more people and organizations than ever before.
Chris McLain, founder and president, is a seasoned aerospace engineer with degrees from the University of Washington and MIT. Over his career, Chris has worked at some of the biggest names in aerospace and communications including Boeing, Lockheed, Panasonic, and SpaceX. After spending decades pioneering innovations in mobile satellite connectivity and contributing to cutting-edge constellations, he saw a gap in the market: traditional GEO satellites weren’t keeping pace with modern connectivity demands and failed to deliver the flexibility, scalability, and value that customers needed. Chris founded AscendArc to reinvent geostationary (GEO) satellites and redefine what’s possible in geostationary space.
Why AscendArc and why now?
I’ve been passionate about space since I was a kid and built my career in aerospace and satellite communications because it’s the part of space that delivers real value. Over the years working on communication systems, I’ve always been driven to reduce costs and make connectivity accessible to everyone. The challenge has always been the economics, but the timing is perfect because the technology, manufacturing approaches, and market demand are aligned to make affordable global connectivity a reality. We now have the ability to produce satellites in volume, more like consumer electronics than traditional aerospace hardware.
What’s AscendArc’s North Star?
We’re obsessed with driving the cost of satellite connectivity down to the lowest possible price per megabit per second. We want to make it as affordable as fiber optic connections in urban areas. By doing so, we can unlock global access for millions, if not billions of people, especially in remote or underserved areas.
How does AscendArc inspire “customer love”?
Our satellites serve customers who need both high performance and control: telcos, satellite operators, national governments, and defense agencies. They choose us because we deliver the capabilities of the largest satellites at a fraction of the cost, with faster deployment and full sovereignty over their communications. In short, we give them power, flexibility, and affordability that traditional providers can’t match.
Tell us about some recent milestones that AscendArc crushed.
We recently signed KT SAT as our first major customer.
We won three US government SBIR/STTR awards to develop military-grade payloads.
Last year, we conducted a full-scale demonstration of our satellite antenna and electronics confirming the core technology’s effectiveness.
We’re gearing up to launch our first satellite as early as 2027.
We’ve raised over $10million from leading investors.
How has your background influenced AscendArc?
I’ve spent my career at the intersection of space and communications. I worked on some of the earliest internet-on-planes projects with Boeing, developed government mobile systems at Lockheed, and later helped build Panasonic’s award-winning inflight connectivity system. Then at SpaceX, I helped build Starlink’s Star Shield program and that experience was eye-opening because I saw how satellites could be built cheaply and efficiently while still being highly capable. I realized I could combine what I learned there with my aerospace background to build affordable, high-performance GEO satellites.
Fun Fact:
I once biked from Canada to Mexico, down the whole Pacific Coast. Now my son and I enjoy backpacking and long train trips.
AscendArc is hiring, so if you’re passionate about space, innovation, and making global connectivity accessible, this is your chance to join the team.
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