Satellite maker Pixxel gets funding from Canadian AI and space-tech investors

Bangalore based space-tech startup Pixxel has received a $25 million funding led by Radical Ventures, a Toronto-based firm known for investing in entrepreneurs that use artificial intelligence to transform large industries.

The funding came from Jordan Noone, Seraphim Space Investment, Lightspeed Partners, Blume Ventures, Sparta LLC and Inventus Capital India. Seraphim Space is the world’s leading specialist investor in space-tech and manager of the London-Stock-Exchange-listed Seraphim Space Investment Trust, and has invested in over 70 space-tech start-ups.

Pixxel is developing the world’s highest resolution hyperspectral satellite constellation to offer industry AI-powered insights that discover, solve, and predict climate issues at a fraction of traditional satellite costs. Two satellites are slated for launch in 2022 and it plans to launch six more satellites in next year. The company is targeting a constellation of 36 satellites in a few years. These low-orbit suit-case size satellites, positioned about 500 kilometers from earth and costing a few crores each, will capture light reflected from earth in far more detail and in much narrower bands than the standard red, green and blue arrays.

“We’re committed to providing a critical tool in the fight against climate change, helping researchers and on-the-ground responders detect and develop effective strategies to combat imminent environmental threats. This funding will not only assist us with this goal but will help us improve our software capabilities so that organizations of all sizes can access and understand this data,” said Awais Ahmed, CEO and founder, Pixxel.

Pixxel is launching the first of its hyperspectral satellites as a part of SpaceX’s upcoming April Transporter-4 mission. These earth-imaging microsatellites have 50x higher resolution than existing drone or land-based multispectral sensors. Traditional earth imaging collects data in the visible light spectrum, limiting the end use cases. Hyperspectral imaging collects data across 40x more wavelengths and can be used for a myriad of applications in India such as monitoring methane emissions, quantifying carbon sequestration, and monitoring disease outbreaks across cropland, said the company.