Commercial Earth-observation corporations acquire an unprecedented quantity of photographs and information each single day, however buying even a single satellite tv for pc picture will be cumbersome and time-intensive. SkyFi, a two-year-old startup, is seeking to change that with an app and API that makes ordering a satellite tv for pc picture as straightforward as a click on of some buttons on a smartphone or laptop.
SkyFi doesn’t construct or function satellites; as a substitute, it companions with over a dozen corporations to ship numerous sorts of satellite tv for pc photographs — together with optical, artificial aperture radar (SAR), and hyperspectral — on to the client through an online and cellular app. A SkyFi consumer can activity a satellite tv for pc to seize a particular picture or select from a library of beforehand captured photographs. Some of SkyFi’s companions embrace public corporations like Satellogic, in addition to newer startups like Umbra and Pixxel.
The startup is taking a really Twenty first-century method to the Earth remark business. SkyFi co-founders Bill Perkins and Luke Fischer emphasize that their firm is targeted on consumer expertise and making a seamless buying course of for the patron, contrasted sharply with what Fischer referred to as “business models based on the ’80s and ’90s.”
“We’re very customer-focused,” Bill Perkins stated on the TerraWatch Space podcast. “The industry is science-focused and product-focused.”
SkyFi’s mission has resonated with traders. The firm closed a $7 million seed spherical led by Balerion Space Ventures, with contributions from current traders J2 Ventures and Uber alumna’s VC agency Moving Capital. Bill Perkins additionally participated. SkyFi has now raised over $17 million so far.
The startup is focusing on three kinds of clients: particular person shoppers; giant enterprise clients, from verticals spanning agriculture, mining, finance, insurance coverage and extra; and U.S. authorities and protection clients. SkyFi’s resolution is interesting even these latter clients, who could have loads of expertise working with satellite tv for pc corporations already and will afford the excessive prices within the conventional market.
“Even though we have companies that are multibillion dollar corporations using our platform that could afford to have a multimillion dollar contract year with [any] public satellite company, they’re being more cost conscious and that’s where this offering of SkyFi comes in,” Fischer stated.
Perkins and Fischer skilled firsthand the ache factors of the normal satellite tv for pc imagery market. For Perkins, the method of attempting to purchase satellite tv for pc photographs for his hedge fund was irritating sufficient that he determined to attempt to remedy the issue himself.
He determined to group up with Fischer, an Army aviation officer whose work expertise consists of stints at Uber Elevate, Joby Aviation and Shield Capital. The two included SkyFi in December 2021 and formally launched the primary product providing this previous January. As of right this moment, the corporate has over 20,000 accounts from 185 nations registered on the platform.
One of their bets is that the overly bureaucratic, time-intensive gross sales course of has truly constrained demand for satellite tv for pc photographs. By making buying simpler — and offering clear pricing — SkyFi anticipates complete new buyer bases and use instances opening up.
“There is no and will never be a ‘contact sales’ button on SkyFi,” Fischer stated. “Because it just was ruining the industry.”
Looking forward, the Austin, Texas–based mostly startup is planning on integrating perception and analytics capabilities into the SkyFi app. This characteristic will likely be particularly helpful for patrons enthusiastic about hyperspectral or SAR photographs. The firm additionally plans to do extra characteristic updates because it integrates extra suppliers — from satellites, to stratospheric balloons, to drones — to the platform.
“I think of SkyFi as the Netflix of the geospatial world, where I think of Umbra, Satellogic and Maxar as the movie studios of the world,” Fischer stated. “I just want them to produce great content and put it on the platform.”