Former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director Robert Cardillo has been appointed to the board of directors of Delafield AI company Synthetaic Inc.
Cardillo worked as director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from 2014 to 2019 and has 40 years of experience in the U.S. intelligence community, Synthetaic said in a press release.
The intelligence gathered by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a part of the U.S. Department of Defense, informs national policy and enables U.S. ships to sail and U.S. aircraft to fly safely. According to its website, the agency provides geospatial intelligence that supports domestic and foreign efforts, from natural disasters to combat.
Cardillo began his career with the Defense Intelligence Agency and currently serves as chairman of the board at Planet Labs Federal Inc. and the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. He’s the independent outside director at Seerist Federal, and he sits on the board of visitors for the National Intelligence University and the board for the International Spy Museum.
Agriculture, transportation and urban planning will reap broad benefits from geospatial intelligence, said Cardillo in a press release.
Global Market Insights Inc. estimates that geospatial intelligence will grow into a $50 billion market by 2023. Geospatial intelligence is already being used in industries like health care, defense, security and technology.
“Synthetaic’s technology is a vital component of what the market has been waiting for — a searchable planetary record that will unlock the full potential of geospatial intelligence,” Cardillo said in the release.
Founded in 2019, Synthetaic specializes in image labeling and sorting through machine learning and artificial intelligence, or AI. The company’s flagship technology is its Rapid Automatic Image Categorization (RAIC) system. Synthetaic’s RAIC is a form of AI that works by taking in massive, unfiltered data sets, like still photos, video or satellite imagery, and sorting them into searchable categories.
The company’s technology was recently used to track the path of the Chinese high-altitude balloon that traversed the U.S. earlier this year.
