Astrolight is developing a laser-based communications system
I’m led through a series of concrete corridors at Vilnius University, Lithuania; the murals give a Soviet-era vibe, and it seems an unlikely location for a high-tech lab working on a laser communication system.
But that’s where you’ll find the headquarters of Astrolight, a six-year-old Lithuanian space-tech start-up that has just raised €2.8m ($2.3m; £2.4m) to build what it calls an “optical data highway”.
You could think of the tech as invisible internet cables, designed to link up satellites with Earth.
The company hopes to be part of a shift from traditional radio frequency-based communication, to faster, more secure and higher-bandwidth laser technology.
Astrolight’s space laser technology could have defence applications as well, which is timely given Russia’s current aggressive attitude towards its neighbours.
Astrolight is already part of Nato’s Diana project (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic), an incubator, set up in 2023 to apply civilian technology to defence challenges.
In Astrolight’s case, Nato is keen to leverage its fast, hack-proof laser communications to transmit crucial intelligence in defence operations – something the Lithuanian Navy is already doing.
It approached Astrolight three years ago looking for a laser that would allow ships to communicate during radio silence.
“So we said, ‘all right – we know how to do it for space. It looks like we can do it also for terrestrial applications’,” recalls Astrolight co-founder and CEO Laurynas Maciulis, who’s based in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius.
For the military his company’s tech is attractive, as the laser system is difficult to intercept or jam.
It’s also about “low detectability”, Mr Maciulis adds:
“If you turn on your radio transmitter in Ukraine, you’re immediately becoming a target, because it’s easy to track. So with this technology, because the information travels in a very narrow laser beam, it’s very difficult to detect.”
Astrolight
Astrolight’s system is difficult to detect or jam
Worth about £2.5bn, Lithuania’s defence budget is small when you compare it to larger countries like the UK, which spends around £54bn a year.
But if you look at defence spending as a percentage of GDP, then Lithuania is spending more than many bigger countries.
Around 3% of its GDP is spent on defence, and that’s set to rise to 5.5%. By comparison, UK defence spending is worth 2.5% of GDP.
Recognised for its strength in niche technologies like Astrolight’s lasers, 30% of Lithuania’s space projects have received EU funding, compared with the EU national average of 17%.
“Space technology is rapidly becoming an increasingly integrated element of Lithuania’s broader defence and resilience strategy,” says Invest Lithuania’s Šarūnas Genys, who is the body’s head of manufacturing sector, and defence sector expert.
Space tech can often have civilian and military uses.
Mr Genys gives the example of Lithuanian life sciences firm Delta Biosciences, which is preparing a mission to the International Space Station to test radiation-resistant medical compounds.
“While developed for spaceflight, these innovations could also support special operations forces operating in high-radiation environments,” he says.
He adds that Vilnius-based Kongsberg NanoAvionics has secured a major contract to manufacture hundreds of satellites.
“While primarily commercial, such infrastructure has inherent dual-use potential supporting encrypted communications and real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance across NATO’s eastern flank,” says Mr Genys.
BlackSwan Space
Lithuania should invest in its domestic space tech says Tomas Malinauskas
Going hand in hand with Astrolight’s laser technology is the autonomous satellite navigation system fellow Lithuanian space-tech start-up Blackswan Space has developed.
Blackswan Space’s “vision based navigation system” allows satellites to be programmed and repositioned independently of a human based at a ground control centre who, its founders say, won’t be able to keep up with the sheer volume of satellites launching in the coming years.
In a defence environment, the same technology can be used to remotely destroy an enemy satellite, as well as to train soldiers by creating battle simulations.
But the sales pitch to the Lithuanian military hasn’t necessarily been straightforward, acknowledges Tomas Malinauskas, Blackswan Space’s chief commercial officer.
He’s also concerned that government funding for the sector isn’t matching the level of innovation coming out of it.
He points out that instead of spending $300m on a US-made drone, the government could invest in a constellation of small satellites.
“Build your own capability for communication and intelligence gathering of enemy countries, rather than a drone that is going to be shot down in the first two hours of a conflict,” argues Mr Malinauskas, also based in Vilnius.
“It would be a big boost for our small space community, but as well, it would be a long-term, sustainable value-add for the future of the Lithuanian military.”
Space Hub LT
Eglė Elena Šataitė leads a government agency supporting space tech
Eglė Elena Šataitė is the head of Space Hub LT, a Vilnius-based agency supporting space companies as part of Lithuania’s government-funded Innovation Agency.
“Our government is, of course, aware of the reality of where we live, and that we have to invest more in security and defence – and we have to admit that space technologies are the ones that are enabling defence technologies,” says Ms Šataitė.
The country’s Minister for Economy and Innovation, Lukas Savickas, says he understands Mr Malinauskas’ concern and is looking at government spending on developing space tech.
“Space technology is one of the highest added-value creating sectors, as it is known for its horizontality; many space-based solutions go in line with biotech, AI, new materials, optics, ICT and other fields of innovation,” says Mr Savickas.
Whatever happens with government funding, the Lithuanian appetite for innovation remains strong.
“We always have to prove to others that we belong on the global stage,” says Dominykas Milasius, co-founder of Delta Biosciences.
“And everything we do is also geopolitical… we have to build up critical value offerings, sciences and other critical technologies, to make our allies understand that it’s probably good to protect Lithuania.”
Betting big on the next hot thing can sometimes burn investors. That can be true even when the next hot thing is as exciting and promising as artificial intelligence (AI).
Concerns about being burned might cause some investors to be leery of buying AI stocks. However, this fear could result in them missing out on huge long-term returns. Are there alternatives for investing in AI that aren’t super risky? Absolutely. Here are two AI stocks that even risk-averse investors can buy without hesitation.
Image source: Getty Images.
Two AI titans
If bigger is better, you won’t find many better AI stocks than Amazon(AMZN -0.07%) and Microsoft(MSFT -0.24%). Amazon ranks as the fourth-largest publicly traded company based on market cap, while Microsoft holds the No. 2 spot. And their AI credentials are impeccable.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the global leader in cloud services, with a market share of 29%. Microsoft Azure is in second place with a market share of 22%. Both cloud platforms continue to enjoy strong growth, thanks in large part to organizations rushing to build and deploy AI models in the cloud.
Amazon and Microsoft boast partnerships with other top AI companies as well. Both companies have teamed up with Nvidia. Microsoft’s investments in ChatGPT creator OpenAI are paying off handsomely, and Amazon has invested $8 billion in Anthropic, the developer of the powerful Claude large language model (LLM).
These two AI titans are also benefiting from AI in their internal operations. Amazon is using AI to recommend products to customers on its e-commerce platform, for example, while Microsoft has rolled out OpenAI’s GPT-4 throughout its product lineup.
Why risk-averse investors should like Amazon and Microsoft
Risk-averse investors know what they’re getting with Amazon and Microsoft. Both companies are AI leaders, but they’re also much more.
Amazon and Microsoft offer tremendous financial stability. Amazon generated revenue of nearly $638 billion last year, with profits totaling over $59 billion. Microsoft’s revenue topped $245 billion, with earnings of more than $88 billion.
Each of the companies has a boatload of cash — $94.6 billion for Amazon and $79.6 billion for Microsoft.
We’ve already seen that Amazon and Microsoft dominate the cloud services market. These two companies are also leaders in other areas. Amazon reigns as the 800-pound gorilla of e-commerce with a market share of 37.6%. Microsoft’s Windows commands a 70% market share among desktop operating systems. The company’s Office 365 suite ranks No. 2 in the productivity software market.
Both companies continue to deliver solid growth. Amazon’s revenue increased 9% year over year in its latest quarter, with earnings soaring 64%. Microsoft’s revenue jumped 13% year over year, with profits up 18%.
More importantly, both Amazon and Microsoft have strong growth prospects. Each company is poised to benefit from the ongoing AI tailwind and the shift from on-premises IT to the cloud. Amazon’s e-commerce platform and Microsoft’s software products also have solid growth potential.
Not risk-free
I don’t want to leave the impression that Amazon and Microsoft don’t have any risks, though. There’s no such thing as a risk-free stock.
Both Amazon and Microsoft face significant competition despite their current market dominance, and growth could be derailed by regulators in the U.S. and in Europe. Both stocks also trade at high valuations: Amazon’s forward price-to-earnings ratio is 34.6, while Microsoft’s forward earnings multiple is 33.2. These valuations make them more exposed if they experience a significant business disruption.
However, longtime investors know that the best stocks often command premium valuations. Amazon and Microsoft are two of the best stocks, with lifetime gains of around 227,800% and 123,200%, respectively.
Although Amazon and Microsoft face some risks, I think the pros of both stocks far outweigh the cons. If you’re a risk-averse investor who wants to profit from the AI boom, I can’t think of two better picks.
John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Keith Speights has positions in Amazon and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Distinguished for Innovation, Enterprise Readiness, and Visionary Approach to Agentic AI
Cognigy, a global leader in AI-powered customer service solutions, has been recognized as the leader in the newly released 2025 Conversational AI Intelliview from Opus Research. The report, titled “Decision-Maker’s Guide to Self-Service & Enterprise Intelligent Assistants,” shows Cognigy as the leading platform across critical evaluation areas including product capability, enterprise fit, GenAI maturity, and deployment performance.
This recognition underscores Cognigy’s commitment to empowering enterprises with production-ready, scalable AI solutions that go far beyond chatbot basics. The report cites Cognigy’s strengths in visual AI agent orchestration, tool and function calling, AI Ops and observability, and a deep commitment to enterprise-grade control—all delivered through a platform built to scale real-time customer interactions across voice and digital channels.
“Cognigy exemplifies the next stage of conversational AI maturity,” said Ian Jacobs, VP & Lead Analyst at Opus Research. “Their agentic approach—combining real-time reasoning, orchestration, and observability—demonstrates how GenAI can move beyond experimentation into meaningful, measurable transformation in the contact center.”
Cognigy was one of the few vendors identified in the report as a “True Believer” in the evolution of GenAI-driven self-service, with tools designed to simplify deployment while giving enterprises full control. The platform’s AI Agent Manager enables businesses to create, configure, and continuously improve intelligent agents—defining persona, memory scope, and access to tools and knowledge—all through a flexible, low-code interface. Cognigy uniquely blends deterministic logic with generative capabilities, ensuring both speed and reliability in automation.
“This recognition from Opus Research is more than a milestone—it’s validation that our strategy is working,” said Alan Ranger, Vice President at Cognigy. “We’re delivering real-world, enterprise-grade automation that’s transforming contact centers. From financial services to healthcare to global retail, our customers are scaling faster, resolving issues in real time, and delivering truly modern service experiences.”
With global Fortune 500 customers and partnerships across the CCaaS and AI ecosystem, Cognigy continues to lead the way in delivering enterprise-ready AI that combines usability, speed, and impact. This latest industry acknowledgment further solidifies its position as the go-to platform for intelligent self-service.
To download a copy of the report, visit https://www.cognigy.com/opus-research-2025-conversational-ai-intelliview.
