With $1.85 million in funding, it’s off to outer space for Orlando-based MyRadar

MyRadar, a data company best known for its weather app, closed a $1.2 million crowd funding round, announced CEO Andy Green on September 8. In addition, MyRadar has been awarded a National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) SBIR Phase II grant for $650,000, according to an August 16 news release.

With that money, MyRadar plans to build on its Phase I NOOA project, further developing compact satellites designed to mitigate the impact of wildfires through early detection of indicators of fire as well as high-risk scenarios where fire is more likely. 

“We’ll be using patented methodology and some AI onboard the satellites to constantly monitor the earth using cameras and just be constantly looking for anomalies and issues,” said Green. “The data will be shared with municipalities and agencies.” 

Like Project Kuiper, Starlink and OneWeb, MyRadar’s effectiveness will rely on a constellation of satellites, the first two of 150 being launched during Phase II. The constellation is dubbed HORIS (Hyperspectral Orbital Remote Imaging Spectrometer).

“Phase II builds on the lab, field and space testing the team has already completed, and the primary science mission will be to collect training data from low earth orbit for the larger constellation’s AI systems,” said MyRadar Chief Scientist and Chief Technology Officer Sarvesh Garimella in a prepared statement.

Green said to achieve the company’s goals for HORIS, he’s already started hiring, and plans to grow his team of 35 to as many as 100 by the end of 2024.

Green said the tiny size of his company’s satellites (about four inches) and the smaller number to be launched is unlikely to raise the concerns amongst critics as the telecommunications giants have. As a comparison, a Project Kuiper satellite weighs about 1,300 to 1,540 pounds and Amazon plans to put 3,236 in lower earth orbit. Regulatory consultants and researchers say the more satellites in the sky, the higher the likelihood of collisions. 

Green said MyRadar’s approach is novel: “The satellites that we're launching, they're not expensive. They're not these enormous bus-sized satellites that can only be launched one or two at a time and sit up there for so long. These are smaller, easier to build and cheaper to launch.”

Acme Atronomatic LLC, which does business as MyRadar, is an app company headquartered in Orlando since 2008. MyRadar has 15,000,000 active users in the U.S., Japan, Canada and Australia, with more expansion on the way and global coverage coming for wildfire detection.

Spikes in the app's usage are usually attributed to significant weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms and general severe weather in the summertime. 

MyRadar

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