Orbital Insight

Last updated
Orbital Insight
Company typePrivate
Industry Geospatial analysis
Founded2013
FounderJames Crawford
Headquarters Palo Alto, California, United States
Key people
Kevin E. O’Brien, CEO
ProductsSatellite and related imagery analytics and insights
Website orbitalinsight.com

Orbital Insight is a Palo Alto, California-based geospatial analytics company. The company analyzes satellite, drone, balloon and other unmanned aerial vehicle images, including cell phone geolocation data, to study a range of human activity, and provides business and other strategic insights from the data. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

James Crawford is the company's founder and chief executive officer. [4]

History

Orbital Insight was founded in 2013 by James Crawford, who earlier worked with artificial intelligence systems at Bell Labs, with Google Books and with NASA's Mars rover project. [4] Crawford saw an opportunity to combine commercial and government satellite images with government image sets. The company's first project was analyzing the health of corn crops. [4]

In 2015, the company partnered with the World Bank to improve its poverty data, using building height and rooftop material analysis to approximate wealth. [5]

In 2016, the US intelligence committee's research arm, In-Q-Tel, and Google Ventures (GV), along with CME Group's investment arm CME Ventures, invested in the company, joining previous investors Sequoia Capital, Lux Capital and Bloomberg Beta. [6]

In May 2017, the company closed a $50M million series C round from Sequoia Capital, making it reportedly one of the most capitalized companies in the geospatial analytics industry. [2] In October, it was reported that Orbital Insight was working with the US Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) group to develop and apply advanced algorithms to extract insights from images obtained using prototype commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) microsatellites. One goal was to improve imagery applications in poor weather or lighting conditions, for better identification of natural and manmade threats. [7] [8] In October, Orbital Insight partnered with commercial space imagery company DigitalGlobe to extract insights from DigitalGlobe's satellite imagery. [9]

In June 2018, Orbital Insight partnered with e-GEOS, S.p.A., a joint venture between European spaceflight services company Telespazio and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), to provide emergency flood mapping services to the U.S. government. [1] In July, financial technology and media company Bloomberg L.P. began using Orbital Insight's geospatial vendor analysis including car counts at over 80 retailers, as part of Bloomberg's traditional client data. [10] In September, Orbital Insight partnered with aerospace company Airbus to build a suite of geospatial analytics and tools as part of Airbus' OneAtlas program. [11] Also in September, the company acquired Boston-based FeatureX, a company that specialized in applying computer vision to satellite images in order to extract information. [12] Also in September, Orbital Insight partnered with Royal Bank of Canada's RBC Capital Markets arm to use geospatial imagery to predict trends in energy, mining, and location intelligence fields. [13] Also in September, the company extended a partnership with earth imaging company Planet Labs (Planet), allowing Orbital to use Planet's PlanetScope imagery and high resolution SkySat imagery of Earth. [14]

In May 2019, the company released Orbital Insight GO, an application designed to allow customers to search satellite imagery and geolocation information on their own, and analyze the images and data for insights. [4] Also in May, Orbital Insight announced Earth Monitor, the first product that came from its Airbus satellite imagery partnership, [11] which was a white labeling of Orbital Insight GO with additional custom work to enable integration with Airbus' proprietary satellites and imagery purchasing web flows. Orbital Insight GO was renamed Terrascope and relaunched in late 2022. [15]

In May 2024, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak's firm Privateer Space announced its acquisition of Orbital Insight, following reporting from an independent journalist six months prior that the transaction was meant to save Orbital from bankruptcy. [16] [17] This will add mapping and intelligence services to Privateer's space data offerings, Privateer's chief executive officer told Reuters.

Business

Orbital Insight analyzes satellite, drone, balloon and other unmanned aerial vehicle images, along with phone geolocation data, by applying machine learning techniques with computer vision to extract information that can be used for business decisions. [12] Images are tagged manually to assist with computer recognition. Applications of the technology include estimating retail revenue by studying car counts at malls, helping insurance companies estimate the extent of damages from natural disasters, gauging a country's fuel supply by counting oil storage facilities, and assisting with strategic defense applications for threat assessments. [10] [18] [19] [7] [8]

The company's Global Geospatial Crude Index (GCI) monitors millions of barrels of oil on a daily basis by tracking 25,000 external floating roof tanks. [20] The shadows on the roofs can be used to predict how full the tanks are. [21]

Orbital Insight also acquires anonymized location data for smartphones, and uses the geolocation data to track various business activities, such as staffing levels at refineries and factories, to make economic predictions. [22]

Other tools include Orbital Insight GO, a self service satellite imagery and geospatial data analysis tool for customers. [4] [11]

Clients include hedge funds trying to get information advantages to help their investors. [23]

Operations

Orbital Insight is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The company also has US offices in Arlington, VA, and New York City, and international offices in Tokyo and London. [24] [25] [26]

Financial Distress and Indonesia's State Intelligence Agency

In September and October 2023 multiple articles were published stating the company was facing significant financial difficulties. While the company raised $130 million over the years it has devalued itself to $50 million to obtain a $3 million emergency loan to avoid bankruptcy. [27] The company seem to have secured only $500 000 of the total $3 million. Slide Decks from June 2023 have shown that there were multiple Merger and Acquisition attempts that failed. The company sees its lifeline in a project called Alpha for the Indonesian' State Intelligence Agency. [28] It vaguely mentions multiple prospective deals with Qatar Armed Forces, Israel Defense Forces, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates Armed Forces.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imagery intelligence</span> Intelligence gathered by means of imagery

Imagery intelligence (IMINT), pronounced as either as Im-Int or I-Mint, is an intelligence gathering discipline wherein imagery is analyzed to identify information of intelligence value. Imagery used for defense intelligence purposes is generally collected via satellite imagery or aerial photography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Reconnaissance Office</span> US intelligence agency in charge of satellite intelligence

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. federal government. It provides satellite intelligence to several government agencies, particularly signals intelligence (SIGINT) to the NSA, imagery intelligence (IMINT) to the NGA, and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) to the DIA. The NRO announced in 2023 that it plans within the following decade to quadruple the number of satellites it operates and increase the number of signals and images it delivers by a factor of ten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landsat program</span> American network of Earth-observing satellites for international research purposes

The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Landsat 1 in 1975. The most recent, Landsat 9, was launched on 27 September 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DigitalGlobe</span> American space imagery company

DigitalGlobe was an American commercial vendor of space imagery and geospatial content, and operator of civilian remote sensing spacecraft. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange on 14 May 2009, selling 14.7 million shares at US$19.00 each to raise US$279 million in capital. On 5 October 2017, Maxar Technologies completed its acquisition of DigitalGlobe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satellite imagery</span> Images taken from an artificial satellite

Satellite images are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell images by licensing them to governments and businesses such as Apple Maps and Google Maps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geospatial intelligence</span> Information on military opponents location

In the United States, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) is intelligence about the human activity on Earth derived from the exploitation and analysis of imagery, signals, or signatures with geospatial information. GEOINT describes, assesses, and visually depicts physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. GEOINT, as defined in US Code, consists of imagery, imagery intelligence (IMINT) and geospatial information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RapidEye</span> German geospatial information provider

RapidEye AG was a German geospatial information provider focused on assisting in management decision-making through services based on their own Earth-observation imagery. The company operated a five-satellite constellation producing 5-meter resolution imagery that was designed and implemented by MacDonald Dettwiler of Richmond, Canada.

Alex Fielding is an American engineer and manager. He is the CEO and co-founder of Privateer Space, a space startup with a global online marketplace that aims to connect customers seeking planetary data with orbiting satellites and AI. He co-founded the company with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and MacArthur Genius Moriba Jah. Privateer announced in 2023 that it had grown the business from the Google Maps of space to become the first AI powered space data ride sharing platform with an upcoming satellite autopilot system called Pono set to fly on SpaceX in December 2023. The International Space Station National Labs, in partnership with Privateer announced a deal whereby Privateer publicly tracks and displays mission data on International Space Station telemetry, astronauts, and mission objectives live on the ISS National Labs website. He was co-founder and CEO of robotics company Ripcord, Inc from 2014 to 2021.

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SkySat is a constellation of sub-meter resolution Earth observation satellites owned by Planet Labs, providing imagery, high-definition video and analytics services. Planet acquired the satellites with their purchase of Terra Bella, a Mountain View, California-based company founded in 2009 by Dan Berkenstock, Julian Mann, John Fenwick, and Ching-Yu Hu, from Google in 2017.

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Spaceflight Industries, Inc. is an American private aerospace company based out of Herndon, Virginia, that specializes in geospatial intelligence services. It sold its satellite rideshare business, Spaceflight, Inc., in June 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planet Labs</span> American company specializing in satellite imaging of Earth

Planet Labs PBC is a publicly trading American Earth imaging company based in San Francisco, California. Their goal is to image the entirety of the Earth daily to monitor changes and pinpoint trends.

Satellogic is a company specializing in Earth-observation satellites, founded in 2010 by Emiliano Kargieman and Gerardo Richarte.

Maxar Technologies Inc. is a space technology company headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, United States, specializing in manufacturing communication, Earth observation, radar, and on-orbit servicing satellites, satellite products, and related services. DigitalGlobe and MDA Holdings Company merged to become Maxar Technologies on October 5, 2017.

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HawkEye 360 is an American geospatial analytics company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a commercial seller of radio frequency (RF) signal location data gathered by a satellite constellation.

Kleos Space S.A. was a Luxembourg based space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance company that delivered global intelligence and geolocation data as a service. Kleos Space used its clusters of nanosatellites to detect and locate radio frequency transmissions on land and sea to uncover hidden or illegal activity in key areas. The data collected by the constellation enables up to six antenna pairs to be used in proprietary multilateration algorithms. These algorithms uncover data points of human activity on land and sea for government and commercial use and are delivered to Kleos’ customers, which include various analytics and intelligence entities. Such entities can, for example, detect ships used for unlawful purposes, such as piracy, drug smuggling, and illegal fishing. Their technology can pick up on transmissions independent of other systems, allowing it to provide data when imagery is unclear or targets are out of normal aircraft patrol range.

References

  1. 1 2 "Orbital Insight, e-GEOS Offer Flood Relief Services to US Gov". satellitetoday.com. 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  2. 1 2 "Orbital Insight closes $50M Series C led by Sequoia". techcrunch.com. 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  3. ↑ "Oil Traders Are Now Watching Workers' Phones to Spot Problems at Refineries". bloomberg.com. 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Orbital Insight Opens Its Satellite Network to the Masses". bloomberg.com. 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  5. ↑ "Orbital Insight lands $20 million from investors, led by GV". techcrunch.com. 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  6. ↑ "Orbital Insight raises $20 million to wring actionable intelligence from satellite imagery". spacenews.com. 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  7. 1 2 "DIUx likely to continue radar initiative in spite of setback". spacenews.com. 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  8. 1 2 "DIUx Quarterly Results - Q2 2017" (PDF). diu.mil. 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  9. ↑ "How AI Could (Really) Enhance Images From Space". wired.com. 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  10. 1 2 "Bloomberg Adds Orbital Insight Parking Lot Data to Terminal". waterstechnology.com. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2019-08-21.(subscription required)
  11. 1 2 3 "New geospatial tool makes planet-wide change detection possible in near real-time". geoawesomeness.com. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  12. 1 2 "Orbital Insight acquires computer vision startup FeatureX". spacenews.com. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  13. ↑ "RBC Capital Markets to use satellite data analytics in sell-side research". seekingalpha.com. 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  14. ↑ "Orbital Insight Extends Imagery Sourcing Contract with Planet". satellitetoday.com. 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  15. ↑ "Orbital Insight expands global customer base with TerraScope platform rollout". news.satnews.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  16. ↑ Roulette, Joey (May 7, 2024). "Exclusive: Wozniak's space firm, Privateer, buys Orbital Insight, raises $56.5 million". Reuters. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  17. ↑ Poulson, Jack (2023-10-01). "Exclusive: Google-backed intelligence contractor is avoiding bankruptcy by attempting to merge with Steve Wozniak's satellite company". All-Source Intelligence Fusion. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  18. ↑ "Notice of Convocation of the 17th Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders" (PDF). tokiomarinehd.com. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  19. ↑ "Venezuelan Oil Supplies Hit Five-Year High as Buyers Become Elusive". wsj.com. 2018-02-21. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  20. ↑ "Most Innovative Companies: Orbital Insight". fastcompany.com. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  21. ↑ "Winners of the oil bust: How much oil did China store?". usatoday.com. 2016-10-15. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  22. ↑ "Oil Traders Are Now Watching Workers' Phones to Spot Problems at Refineries". bloomberg.com. 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  23. ↑ "Winners of the oil bust: How much oil did China store?". wsj.com. 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  24. ↑ "Orbital Insight Expands with New Japan Office". satellitetoday.com. 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  25. ↑ "Orbital Insight Opens Singapore Office". satellitetoday.com. 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  26. ↑ "Orbital Insight Office Locations". craft.co. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  27. ↑ Poulson, Jack (2023-10-01). "Exclusive: Google-backed intelligence contractor is avoiding bankruptcy by attempting to merge with Steve Wozniak's satellite company". All-Source Intelligence Fusion. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  28. ↑ Poulson, Jack (2023-10-16). "Exclusive: Google-backed startup's main income from Indonesian intelligence tracking West Papuans, former employee says". All-Source Intelligence Fusion. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
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