Editor's note: In our 2023 Startups to Watch feature, the Silicon Valley Business Journal and San Francisco Business Times present startups and founders doing unique things in the Bay Area. Fizz is one of 15 we profiled this year — to read more about our mission and the other startups we're featuring, click here.
The ability to tap into satellite imagine has been a costly endeavor, often reserved for big companies with deep pockets. But Array Labs Inc. believes it has a way to provide cheaper and better 3D models that would be of use to even small companies. And after getting $100 million in letters of intent for their technology, Andrew Peterson and Isaac Robledo — the duo behind Array Labs — thinks they're onto something with their tiny tech.
Describe what your business does for someone from Mars? Array Labs creates swarms of tiny, synchronized satellites which produce a real-time, 3D-model of the earth. Array Lab’s imagery is a fraction of the price and provides a resolution that's 60 times that of competitors. One of the most exciting aspects of this technology is its ability to democratize satellite imagery and up-to-date 3D models. Right now, high-quality imagery is extremely expensive and only available in small quantities to huge organizations with deep pockets. Array Labs will greatly increase the affordability and coverage of satellite imagery, so even tiny companies and non-profits will have able to access high-quality data.
What was the “aha” moment behind your startup? While we always believed in the promise of our technology, it wasn’t until we joined Y Combinator that we had our true "aha" moment. After YC invited us to join their Class of Summer 2022, we met with over 100 potential customers from 60 different companies within a 6-week period. The customer response was overwhelming; over this period, we recorded over $100 million in letters of intent and soft commitments to purchase our 3D imagery.
- Founded: 2021
- Founders: Andrew Peterson, CEO; Isaac Robledo
- What it does: Uses satellites to create a 3D map of earth.
- HQ: Palo Alto
- Employees: 110
- Total funding: $5 million
How different is the company you have today compared with the company you first envisioned? We have been extremely lucky to receive far more funding and support much earlier than we ever imagined, which is allowing us to develop on more aggressive timelines than we first planned. We are assembling our dream-team of engineers, and our first satellite is scheduled to launch in less than 18 months.
Who are your customers? 3D imaging is the next-generation of satellite imaging, which will enable a host of new applications across an array of industries, including augmented reality, climate and geological research, insurance analytics, autonomous transportation, defense, construction, and more.
Are you profitable? No, we are not profitable yet. Space hardware is always a bit of a long game; we won’t see significant profits until our satellite constellations are designed, launched, and orbiting.
How do you plan to weather tough economic conditions and lack of available VC funding? We're in a very fortunate position to benefit from the current tough economic conditions. Since we have already secured our development funding, we’re able to hire aggressively while other larger companies are struggling to retain talented engineers.
What other businesses and business leaders give you inspiration? Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham is a huge inspiration. He is a model of someone who is highly innovative, strategic, and successful, but also very approachable and concerned with the well-being of the entire startup ecosystem. In addition, we continue to take huge inspiration from Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, who are successful startup investors and the hosts of the Acquired podcast. Ben and David have an incredible ability to explain the histories and strategies of the most successful companies of all time; listening to their podcast feels as instructive as the best MBA coursework. They make it clear that startups can be run by anyone who brings a good idea, solid logic, and a whole lot of grit to the table, and their optimistic attitude was continues to inspire our work at Array Labs.
