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{{Short description|American telecommunications company}}
{{for|the god in Estonian mythology|Tharapita}}
{{Primary sources|date=November 2025}}
<noinclude>{{Requested move notice|1=Taara (company)|2=Talk:Taara#Requested move 8 November 2025}}
</noinclude>{{Infobox company
| name           = Taara Connect, Inc.
| logo           = <!-- placeholder: add logo file when uploaded -->
| type           = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| industry       = Telecommunications technology; Free-space optical communications
| founded        = 2025
| predecessor    = Project Taara ([[X Development LLC]])
| founder        = Mahesh Krishnaswamy
| headquarters   = [[Sunnyvale, California]], U.S.
| area_served    = Worldwide
| key_people     = Mahesh Krishnaswamy (CEO)
| products       = Taara Lightbridge; Free-space optical terminals
| owner          = [[Alphabet Inc.]] (minority stake); Series X Capital; others
| website        = {{URL|https://www.taaraconnect.com}}
}}

'''Taara Connect, Inc.''' (doing business as '''Taara''') is an American telecommunications technology company developing [[free-space optical communication]]s (FSO) systems that use beams of light to deliver high-speed data links. The company spun out of [[X Development|X]], Alphabet's Moonshot Factory, in March 2025 and is headquartered in [[Sunnyvale, California]].

== History ==
Taara originated as a research project inside X (formerly Google X), where engineers explored alternatives to fiber deployment using optical links through the air. The company's formal spin-out was announced on 17 March 2025, backed by Series X Capital and with Alphabet retaining a minority stake in the new entity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taara exits Alphabet's X labs, secures external funding |publisher=Data Center Dynamics |date=17 March 2025 |url=https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/taara-exits-alphabets-x-labs-secures-external-funding/}}</ref>

In its graduation statement, X described Taara's mission as "bringing high-speed, affordable and abundant connectivity to people everywhere using beams of light".<ref>{{cite web |title=Introducing the Light Generation |publisher=X |url=https://x.company/blog/posts/taara-graduation/}}</ref>

== Technology and products ==
Taara develops hardware and software for free-space optical connectivity in which narrow, invisible light beams carry data between two terminals without the use of fiber or radio spectrum. The company's flagship product, the '''Taara Lightbridge''', is capable of delivering up to 20 Gbps over line-of-sight distances of up to 20 km.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taara – "The speed of fiber and the flexibility of wireless" |publisher=X |url=https://x.company/projects/taara/}}</ref>

Taara is also developing a silicon photonics-based beam-steering chip intended to miniaturize future terminals and reduce the mechanical complexity of current units.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alphabet's X unit spins off free-space optics company Taara |publisher=Optics.org |date=18 March 2025 |url=https://www.optics.org/news/16/3/24}}</ref>

== Deployments and use cases ==
Taara reports deployments in more than a dozen countries across Africa, India, North America, and Southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taara, a Google moonshot spin-out, seeks scale for its fiber-over-the-air platform |publisher=Light Reading |date=6 May 2025 |url=https://www.lightreading.com/wireless/taara-a-google-moonshot-spin-out-seeks-scale-for-its-fiber-over-the-air-platform}}</ref>

Notable deployments include:
* A link bridging the Congo River between Brazzaville and Kinshasa, where laying fiber is prohibitively expensive.<ref>{{cite web |title=Over-the-Air Lasers Aim to Solve the Internet's "Middle Mile" |publisher=IEEE Spectrum |date=29 July 2025 |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/free-space-optical-communication-taara}}</ref>
* Partnerships with Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and T-Mobile for rural and metro backhaul.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taara CEO: Enterprise is where free space optics can shine |publisher=Fierce Network |date=12 September 2025 |url=https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/taara-ceo-free-space-optics-just-what-enterprises-need}}</ref>
* A reseller and distribution agreement with Digicomm International covering broadband, municipal, and enterprise network deployments across the Americas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Digicomm International and Taara Partner to Bring Wireless Optical Communications to Broadband, Enterprise, and Municipal Networks |publisher=BusinessWire |date=5 May 2025 |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250505836500/en/}}</ref>

== Market and challenges ==
Taara positions its FSO links as an alternative where trenching fiber is difficult, costly, or blocked by terrain, regulation, or infrastructure barriers. The company has acknowledged that weather conditions, such as fog or heavy rain, can temporarily degrade links and that hybrid backup links are often used in deployments.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taara CEO: Enterprise is where free space optics can shine |publisher=Fierce Network |date=12 September 2025 |url=https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/taara-ceo-free-space-optics-just-what-enterprises-need}}</ref>

== Funding and ownership ==
Taara raised an undisclosed funding round coinciding with its spin-out in 2025, led by Series X Capital. Alphabet, via X Development LLC, retained a minority equity stake.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alphabet spins off Taara, a laser-powered networking venture |publisher=SiliconANGLE |date=17 March 2025 |url=https://siliconangle.com/2025/03/17/alphabet-spins-off-taara-laser-powered-networking-venture/}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[LiFi]]
* [[Fiber-optic communication]]

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
* {{official website|https://www.taaraconnect.com}}

[[Category:Telecommunications companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Technology companies established in 2025]]
[[Category:Alphabet Inc. subsidiaries]]