Xoople SL, a Spanish provider of Earth observation data, today disclosed that it has closed a $130 million funding round.

Madrid-based investment firm Nazca Capital led the raise. It was joined by MCH Private Equity, CDTI, Buenavista Equity Partners and Endeavor Catalyst.

Xoople provides access to satellite imagery from organizations such as the European Space Agency. In the future, the company will sell data from its own Earth observation constellation. In conjunction with today’s funding milestone, Xoople announced a deal with L3Harris Technologies Inc. to produce optical sensors for its planned satellites.

Optical observation satellites don’t take photos in the traditional sense. Instead, they measure the sunlight that is reflected off the Earth’s surface. Some of the reflected sunlight is invisible to humans and the raw measurements often contain errors. As a result, satellite imagery has to go through a significant amount of processing before it can be used for practical tasks.

According to TechCrunch, one of the sources from which Xoople collects observation data is the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 constellation. It comprises a pair of identical satellites that can take photos across 13 spectral bands. The constellation offers a maximum resolution of up to 32 feet.

Some Earth observation satellites are perched in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they hover over a fixed location. Such systems are highly adept at tracking changes that occur in a specific area, but they provide limited resolutions. Companies that require better image quality use satellites deployed in low Earth orbit. That orbit is significantly closer to the ground, which translates into higher resolutions.

Xoople didn’t specify which of the two orbits will be used by its planned satellites. However, the company did tell TechCrunch that its long-term development roadmap includes a “true AI world model.” A world model is a neural network that can generate a three-dimensional virtual environment such as a simulation of the Earth.

For the time being, Xoople is offering a platform that turns raw images from third-party constellations such as Sentinel-2 into a more analytics-friendly form. Customers can also use the data to power artificial intelligence applications.

The construction sector is one of the industries where Xoople’s platform can be applied. An engineering firm could build an AI model that analyzes footage of construction sites to spot project delays. Furthermore, satellite imagery can be used to estimate the length of the delays and the associated costs.

Xoople’s platform is also gaining traction in the public sector. According to the company, Alaska’s Department of Transportation is using its satellite data to monitor iceberg-related traffic risks. The platform can also be used for tasks such as monitoring crop health and adjusting package delivery routes based on weather conditions.

The funding round reportedly valued the company at more than $1 billion. It will use the capital to finance engineering initiatives. 

Photo: Xoople