EO
Stories about the Earth Observation industry’s eyes on our planet.
Synthetaic Raises $13M Series A, Led by Lupa Systems
AI startup Synthetaic has closed a $13M Series A, the Delafield, WI-based company announced this morning. Lupa Systems led the round, with TitleTown Tech, Betaworks, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Esri also participating. Synthetaic has raised $17.5M to date. AI’s “data problem” Labeled data is a must for most state-of-the-art models. In a world where scale…
MDA Is Sharing Satellite Imagery with Kyiv
Image: MDA MDA, a Canadian satellite developer and geospatial analytics provider, announced Tuesday that it is supplying satellite imagery to Ukraine. The move follows a similar announcement the same day from Satellogic and Astraea. In a statement, MDA said it “secured special authorization” from the Canadian government “to collect synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery over…
Satellogic and Astraea Create Platform for Ukraine Imagery
Satellogic has partnered with Astraea, a geospatial and AI analytics company, to quickly supply the Ukrainian government and allied groups with satellite imagery and change detection in the midst of the ongoing war in the country. The two companies said yesterday they’ve created a portal called Ukraine Observer where governments and humanitarian organizations can apply to…
Ukraine Asks Commercial Satellite Operators to Share Imagery
Earlier this week, Ukrainian entrepreneur Max Polyakov told reporters that it was critical for Ukraine’s military to gain real-time access to Western satellite operators’ imagery (h/t Ars Technica). “Right now, we need to have this intelligence,” Polyakov said Monday, as quoted by Ars. “Every night, we’ve been bombarded, and at night we are blind.” Polyakov said…
Satellite Imagery Helps Pierce through Fog of War in Ukraine
Last Wednesday, in the lead-up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we wrote about how commercial satellite imagery laid bare the open secret of Moscow’s military mobilization. Satellite imagery has contributed to a growing corpus of open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysis, a vital asset helping to pierce through the fog of war. Newsrooms, analysts, and amateur…
OSINT Via Satellite
Intelligence agencies have their own tactics and techniques to follow the latest military developments near Ukraine. But spies aren’t inclined to share all that classified information with the rest of us. Satellite imagery, along with other sources like social media posts and video geolocation/metadata, enable open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysis from publicly available data. Coupled with…
BlackSky Reports Q4, Full-Year 2021 Financial Results
This morning, Seattle-based BlackSky (NYSE:BKSY) reported Q4 and full-year 2021 results. Q4 financial highlights: BlackSky recorded $11.5M in revenue, up 79% year-over-year Operating loss stood at $31.9M; Adj. EBITDA loss was $14.4M (more on that below). Going into 2022, BlackSky had $168M in cash. In Q4, BlackSky recorded $14.4M in capex spend. Financial highlights for…
Ursa Space Adds One-Click Ordering to SAR Imagery Platform
Taking a page from e-commerce’s playbook, Ursa Space has added one-click ordering to its SAR imagery platform. Processing Ursa’s business, piece by piece: SAR, or synthetic aperture radar, has 24-hour, all-weather, cloud cover-piercing persistent sensing capabilities. The technique can be especially useful for object and change detection. But in its natural and raw form, SAR data is…
Wyvern (YC W22) Receives CAD $4M Investment from Sustainable Development Technology Canada
Wyvern has received a CAD $4M (~$3.2M) investment from STDC, just weeks after the Canadian satellite imaging startup announced a $4.5M seed round and its inclusion in Y Combinator’s Winter 22 (W22) batch. STDC, or Sustainable Development Technology Canada, is an “arm’s-length” foundation funded by the Canadian government. STDC’s grant is non-dilutive and tied to…
Earth Observation Players to Attend COP26
The UN’s 26th UN Climate Change Conference—or COP26—has started in Glasgow, Scotland. On the docket: decarbonization negotiations. Over 120 world leaders will gather in Glasgow over the next week. FYI: In its latest climate science report, published in August, the UN calls for the world to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. What’s space got to do…
Hedron Rebrands, Raises $17.8M Round
Today, Cambridge, MA-based “Hedron” said it’s closed a $17.8M Series A. The on-orbit communications company (née Analytical Space) has officially rebranded to Hedron. Justin Timberlake from The Social Network would approve. The cap table: Fidelity-affiliated Fine Structure Ventures led the round, joined by Lockheed Martin Ventures, Republic Labs, Lime Street, and Explorer 1. Existing investors The Engine, Flybridge,…
