#59: Launching Proprietary Satellites and Becoming a Vertically Integrated Earth Observation Company - SatSure

TerraWatch Space Podcast

We have got an interesting episode today, I know I say that for most episodes, but this one is actually quite interesting because we are talking about a strategy that not many companies have pursued in Earth observation - starting as a product company and offering solutions based on EO data, then deciding to go up the value chain and launch proprietary satellites.

We have got only a handful of companies who decided to go with this approach and SatSure, a startup from India, is one of them. SatSure, based in Bengaluru, develops EO-based products for Agriculture, Banking, financial services and insurance and the Infrastructure sectors.

I have already had SatSure's CEO Prateep on the podcast (episode #32), but in this episode, I wanted to dive deep into how and why they decided to launch their own high-resolution, multispectral satellites with on-board processing capabilities.

Today, I am speaking with Karthik, General Manager of SatSure and Akash, CTO of KaleidEO, which is a subsidiary of SatSure focused on building payloads. We talk about why SatSure decided to launch its own satellites, the state of pricing of satellite imagery and whether the evolution is suitable for the developing world, on-board processing and what that brings, how all of this relates to the company's existing product portfolio and more.

[Thanks to SatSure for sponsoring this episode]

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Shownotes

• SatSure Website
• KaleidEO
• Recent investment announcement

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Timestamps

01:37: Intros

04:53: SatSure: Overview

07:21: Why did SatSure decide to launch their own EO satellites

16:43: Evolution of the price of satellite imagery and whether it is suitable for the developing world

20:47: Making the decision on sensors, resolution and other technological configuration

27:51: On-board processing and why it is relevant

37:22: Do most downstream companies need to launch their own EO satellites?

44:03: Wrap-up questions and what's coming up for SatSure

50:37: Recent announcement of investment from three major banks

52:17: A question for me