Singapore's EDBI invests in US-based satellite imaging firm

PLANET, a US-based satellite imaging company that operates the world's largest fleet of earth observation satellites, has bagged an undisclosed investment from EDBI - the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board, for its Series D round.

The investment - EDBI's first in spacetech - brings Planet's total fundraise to over US$400 million. EDBI is Planet's first Singapore-based investor, and the funds will be used for the firm's Asia expansion and for growing its sales, marketing and product team, co-founder and chief strategy officer Robbie Schingler told The Business Times.

Other backers of Planet include Google, the International Finance Corporation, and American venture firms DFJ and Data Collective.

The earth observation data and services industry is poised to grow to US$15 billion by 2026, said EDBI. Planet serves more than 30,000 users and 400 customers in over 40 countries across commercial applications such as agriculture, maritime, energy, defence and finance.

Its satellite-imaging and in-house analytics services provide actionable insights for customers across both government and commercial industries. Commercial use cases include forecasting agricultural crop yield, monitoring infrastructure projects and assets, and demand prediction for businesses.

About 30 per cent of the company's revenue comes from the government sector, said Mr Schingler. Planet is also working on developing an analytics platform that makes data meaningful for small and mid-sized businesses, allowing its customer base to expand to that segment.

The firm is in talks with several Singapore government agencies and institutions for potential applications of its technology, supported by EDBI.