Matter Intelligence Receives $12 Million to Develop EO Sensor Suite

The LA startup Matter Intelligence has been awarded $12 million in funding to develop its own Earth observation sensor suite. The technology is designed for satellites and aircraft and will include a thermal sensor, high-resolution camera, and a spectrometer.

Vishnu Sridhar, Matter co-founder and CEO, discussed the “We’re putting all three things together because everyone wants to do data fusion,” he went on to explain “We’re doing data fusion at the sensor level.”

The race to incorporate AI with more Earth observation has already started. Matter’s intention is to incorporate AI models to create maps that are far more detailed and have the ability to discern between materials that are on the surface and in the atmosphere. The maps will be able to show things like the materials of a building or even invasive plant species, plus the emissions of pipelines across the world. 

Digital elevation models will also be part of the offering from Matter Intelligence. Lowercarbon Capital led the seed round of funding and the likes of Toyota Ventures and Mark Cuban were involved.

Matter Intelligence’s Plans For the Funding

With the significant injection of funds, Matter will now be able to build and showcase the suite as well as expanding the brand. 

“We’re already working with several commercial customers to engage in more advanced use cases,” Sridhar said.

The company is playing its cards close to its chest having not said exactly how high resolution the sensors are (though they confirmed sub-metre precision) and they have also been coy about when the first satellite, Earth-1, will launch.

The company was founded in 2023 as Sridhar, who worked on the Mars Perseverance Rover’s camera, teamed up with Thomas Chrien, a former Millenium Space engineer, and Caltech scientist Nathan Stein.

The money will now go towards building a spaceflight-ready sensor and software that the company will go on to test and demo by the end of 2025. It will then seek further funding for the process of sending the technology into Earth orbit.