There are thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth, and an increasing number of them are able to capture all types of images in near real time.
It used to be a somewhat cumbersome process to access those images. But Austin-based startup SkyFi has built a platform that acts as a sort of “Getty Images” for more than 50 geospatial imagery partners that has proven popular in the worlds of finance, defense, infrastructure, and insurance — to name a few.
That popularity escalated as SkyFi began offering more analytics and insights to its customers through its website and mobile app, along with the ability to “task” satellites to capture images of a location at a specific time, CEO Luke Fischer recently told TechCrunch in an interview.
“I think the real goal for us is providing answers for customers, both government and commercial,” Fischer said. “Imagery is a commodity, or it’s closely becoming a commodity, [so it’s] not just about speed of delivery, but more importantly, speed of delivery of answers to customers.”
Being able to offer insights along with easy-to-access imagery is a big reason why SkyFi was just able to close a $12.7 million Series A funding round, according to Fischer.
That’s reflected in the investor makeup of the round. It was co-led by climate-focused fund Buoyant Ventures and IronGate Capital Advisors, which invests in dual-use companies. Other investors included DNV Ventures (the investment arm of 160-year-old maritime company DNV), Beyond Earth Ventures (a space-focused firm), and TFX Capital (which has made a number of defense-related space investments).
Fischer said he and co-founder Bill Perkins — who comes from the hedge fund world, hence the emphasis on generating actionable insights — initially only sought to raise a round of about $8 million.
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