Amazon wants to speed up its race to space. Reports surfaced on Wednesday that the tech giant is in talks to buy Globalstar, a major player in the satellite industry. Once the Financial Times shared the news, Globalstar’s stock price shot up by more than 15% in after-hours trading. While the companies haven’t confirmed anything yet, investors see this as a massive move for Amazon’s future.
The deal is not a simple one, though. Apple currently stands in the way. Back in 2024, Apple invested $1.5 billion into Globalstar and took a 20% stake in the company to power emergency features on the iPhone. Because Apple already owns a large chunk of the business and relies on its tech, Amazon will have to navigate some very complicated legal hurdles to get a deal done.
Amazon needs Globalstar to save its struggling “Amazon Leo” project. This service aims to beam high-speed internet down to Earth from space, but it is currently far behind schedule. So far, Amazon has only launched about 200 satellites into orbit. They eventually want to have a fleet of 7,700 satellites, so buying an established company like Globalstar could give them a much-needed shortcut.
Right now, Amazon is losing the space race to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The Starlink service already has over 10,000 satellites in space and serves more than 9 million customers. Amazon is feeling the pressure to catch up, especially after asking the government for more time to meet its 2026 launch deadlines. Without more help, Amazon risks falling even further behind.
Globalstar has been looking for a partner for a while now. Rumors from last year suggested that the company even talked with SpaceX about a possible sale before Amazon entered the picture. For now, Amazon and Globalstar are refusing to comment on the situation. If they reach an agreement, it could change the balance of power in the satellite internet market forever.
