Climate change is going to affect just about everything on planet Earth. To stay in operation — or to try to prevent or mitigate the worst outcomes — companies and other organizations need to understand what's happening as precisely as they can.
The best way to do that is from the vantage point of space, say the folks behind Muon Space Inc. But to date, collecting and analyzing comprehensive data from above the Earth's atmosphere has been an expensive and daunting process.
That's where the Mountain View startup's team thinks it can help. The company is launching a constellation of data-gathering satellites designed to assist companies and organizations in monitoring weather systems, pollution, wildfires and other climate-related phenomena.
"The only way organizations can make meaningful decisions around how to respond to climate change and monitor the efficacy of those decisions is to have access to timely, high quality data," Muon CEO Jonny Dyer said in a company blog post. He continued: "Muon Space's platform makes getting insights from space fast, reliable and low-friction."
Some of Muon's earliest customers include Google LLC and the Environmental Defense Fund, according to TechCrunch.
Muon, which Bay Area Inno named one of its Startups to Watch earlier this year, has some new money to get its satellites into space. It announced Tuesday it's raised $25 million in Series A funding in a round led by Radical Ventures.
Read on for more on Muon's new deal and other Series A funding news from this past week:
Muon Space Inc., Mountain View, $25 million: Radical Ventures led the round for this provider of a service that launches and operates satellites that collect Earth data on behalf of organizations. Costanoa Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Space Capital and Ubiquity Ventures also invested.
Forage Technology Corp., San Francisco, $22 million: Nyca Partners led the round for this provider of a service that allows merchants to accept electronic benefits transfer (EBT) payments from recipients of government aid. PayPal Ventures, EO Ventures and Apoorva Mehta also invested.
Spin Technology Inc., Palo Alto, $16 million: Blueprint Equity led the round for this provider of a cloud security service. Santa Barbara Venture Partners and Blu Venture Investors also participated.
Farther Finance Advisors LLC (dba Farther), San Francisco, $15 million: Bessemer Venture Partners led the round for this provider of wealth management software for financial advisors and their clients. Khosla Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Moneta Venture Capital, Context Ventures and Cota Capital also invested.
Atropos LLC (dba Atropos Health), Palo Alto, $14 million: Breyer Capital led the round for this provider of a service that generates custom analyses of patient health data for medical practitioners. Emerson Collective and Boston Millennia Partners also participated.
Expedock Inc., San Francisco, $13.5 million: Insight Partners led the round for this provider of software that automatically digitizes freight paperwork for logistics companies. Motion Ventures, VMG Catalyst, Pear VC and Neo also invested.
