Albedo Raises $35M to Commercialize Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO)
January 23, 2024 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Albedo, the first company to offer aerial quality imagery from space – enabled by the new orbit frontier of VLEO (very low earth orbit) – today announced a $35M Series A-1 financing round led by Standard Investments, bringing the company’s total funding to $97M.
“We’re proud to partner with Albedo on their mission to scale aerial-quality data collection from space.”
Participation in the round included new investors Booz Allen Ventures, Cubit Capital, and Bill Perkins, along with existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Shield Capital, Initialized Capital, Y Combinator, Giant Step Capital, Republic Capital, and other undisclosed participants. In addition, Ben Sampson, Managing Director of Standard Investments, will join the Albedo Board of Directors.
“The Series A-1 funding will be used to launch Albedo’s first operational satellite and accelerate constellation deployment — ultimately proving out and proliferating the world’s first high-res VLEO platform,” said Topher Haddad, CEO of Albedo.
Albedo’s mission is to provide commercial and defense users with ultra-high resolution satellite imagery to see details with clarity and then act with certainty. By rethinking the traditional approach to earth observation satellites, namely developing a stable, agile platform to operate at very low altitudes, Albedo is able to collect data at an exquisite quality with cost-effective, mid-sized satellites. The constellation under development will co-collect native 10 centimeter (cm) optical imagery and 2 meter thermal infrared imagery, the same resolutions that can only be obtained today by drones/planes, but now at a global scale with on-demand coverage at high frequency.
“Standard invests in disruptive industrial technologies, and the new orbit frontier of VLEO will open up a wide variety of exciting opportunities around enhanced imagery and data collection, which is a key unmet challenge in modernizing industry and infrastructure,” said Ben Sampson, Managing Director of Standard Investments. “We’re proud to partner with Albedo on their mission to scale aerial-quality data collection from space.”
“We were fortunate to raise this round at a step-up valuation from some of the top investors in our category,” said Haddad. “As geopolitical tensions rise and we approach an irreversible climate change tipping point, the need for innovative dual-use technologies is crucial in sustaining a safe global environment.”
About Albedo
Albedo builds VLEO satellites that collect visible and thermal imagery at the highest resolution commercially available. Once launched, the company will operate the satellites to provide imagery-as-a-service to industries including agriculture, insurance, energy, mapping, utilities, and defense. For more information, please visit https://albedo.com.
About Standard Investments
Standard Investments is a fundamentally driven investment platform focused on the intersection of industry and technology. Standard Investments deploys capital flexibly and creatively across the public and private markets, spanning the life cycle of a company, and leverages its deep industrial knowledge and operational experience to create value. To learn more, visit http://standardinvestments.com.
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