The purchase was revealed in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US. SpaceX has reportedly scooped up Swarm’s 30 employees alongside its network of 120 tiny satellites.

The satellites are functioning as a wireless network providing continuous coverage across the planet for IoT devices, particularly in remote areas in industries such as agriculture and maritime.

The service is somewhat analogous to SpaceX’s Starlink service, which has been designed to provide broadband internet using its own constellation of satellites.

Starlink currently has 1,740 satellites in orbit, but more are planned before the rollout of its full commercial service, which has faced delays.

The merger agreement, in which Swarm will become a direct and wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX, was made on 16 July, according to the FCC filing.

“Swarm’s services will benefit from the better capitalisation and access to resources available to SpaceX, as well as...