On August 14, 2026, Norges Bank Investment Management, manager of Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, disclosed an expanded equity position in direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communications operator AST SpaceMobile, Inc.
Second-quarter institutional filings confirm the fund acquired an additional 604,458 shares in AST SpaceMobile during Q2 2026, raising its total equity stake in the company to a valuation of €256 million at the end of the quarter.
The filing represents the first formal public disclosure of the Norwegian state fund’s holdings across the commercial space and satellite sector.
Financial Metrics and Private Equity Allocation
Alongside its expanded holding in AST SpaceMobile, the sovereign fund disclosed a $1.22 billion equity position in SpaceX, representing a 0.05 percent stake in the privately held launch and satellite operator. The investments mark a broader diversification strategy by the fund, which manages more than $1.7 trillion in global assets and holds significant institutional positions across major technology firms, including a 1.28 percent stake in Nvidia and a 1.24 percent holding in Apple.
The capital allocation provides institutional backing for AST SpaceMobile as the company advances hardware assembly and launch logistics for its high-throughput low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation.
Direct-to-Device Constellation Deployment and Market Outlook
The increased investment coincides with AST SpaceMobile’s operational transition toward commercial D2D service delivery. As previously reported, the company completed final assembly on its Block 2 BlueBird spacecraft stack ahead of its scheduled orbital campaign aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Powered by proprietary AST5000 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) cores, each Block 2 satellite features a 2,400-square-foot phased array antenna designed to deliver peak data rates of up to 200 Mbps directly to unmodified smartphones.
With active commercial integration agreements spanning nearly 60 mobile network operators representing over 3 billion subscribers, AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-cellular network aims to close terrestrial coverage gaps across remote, maritime, and off-grid markets globally.
