Pixxel, a spacetech business that provides Earth imaging technology, announced on Monday that it has raised $25 million in a fresh investment round headed by Radical Ventures of Toronto.
Jordan Noone, creator of Embedded Ventures, Seraphim Space Investment, Lightspeed Partners, Blume Ventures, Sparta LLC, and Inventus Capital India were among the other investors in the round.
The new funding will help the company speed up the production of its hyperspectral satellite constellation and provide newer artificial intelligence (AI)-powered insights, according to the company.
Pixxel is a hyperspectral imaging startup founded by Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal in 2019. Instead of assigning main colours (red, green, and blue) to each pixel, hyperspectral imaging analyses a broad spectrum of light in an image. This results in more accurate data and insights from photographs of the Earth taken from space. Hyperspectral imaging can be used to monitor methane emissions and disease outbreaks throughout farms, for example.
“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 help us improve our software capabilities so that organisations of all sizes can access and understand this data,” said Ahmed, Pixxel’s cofounder and chief executive.
Hyperspectral satellites will be launched as part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s planned Transporter-4 mission in April. According to the corporation, these earth-imaging microsatellites will have a greater resolution than existing ones.
“Equipped with AI and machine learning technology built by an impressive team, Pixxel’s technology closely aligns with how we believe AI can change the world for good and we’re excited to support them on this journey,” said Parasvil Patel, partner Radical Ventures.
In March 2021, the company closed its seed round worth $7.3 million, which saw participation from Lightspeed Ventures, Blume Ventures, growX, Omnivore, Techstars and others.
“Pixxel’s constellation will be vital for applications such as monitoring the health of crops, measuring climate risks such as floods and famine, and detecting pipeline leaks. Seraphim’s investment is set to fuel the company’s next stage of growth,” said Lewis Jones, investment manager at Seraphim Space.