Pixxel Space Technologies Inc. has secured $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Temasek and Seraphim, with participation from other institutional investors. This brings the company's total external funding to $192 million.
The company specializes in hyperspectral imaging satellites. Its current Firefly constellation, launched last year via SpaceX rockets, detects more than 135 spectrum bands, compared to the 15 bands typical of multispectral satellites. This allows for the identification of the chemical composition of objects on Earth's surface.
The Firefly satellites weigh approximately 110 pounds and operate from a sun-synchronous low Earth orbit 341 miles above the Earth with a resolution of 16 feet. The technology is applied in forestry, water management, urban planning, and agriculture, enabling tasks such as assessing tree health and identifying tree species.
Pixxel will use the new capital to develop its second-generation Honeybee constellation. This new fleet will feature shortwave infrared (SWIR) imaging and synthetic aperture radar to see through clouds. The first Honeybee satellite is scheduled for launch next year.
The company is also enhancing its Aurora cloud platform, which allows customers to run AI models on imaging datasets. To support the Honeybee initiative, Pixxel plans to increase its manufacturing capacity.
