Albedo develops vertically integrated satellites optimized for very low Earth orbit (VLEO) to deliver 10-centimeter optical imagery commercially. Its approach emphasizes a dense satellite bus, efficient electric propulsion to counter atmospheric drag, and advanced guidance, navigation and control plus robotics to achieve stability, agility and geolocation accuracy at high resolution. The company says it can drive costs down relative to historically expensive military systems by optimizing the bus and operations for VLEO (250–450 km altitude). Albedo was founded by former Lockheed Martin engineers including CEO Topher Haddad, AyJay Lasater and Winston Tri. The company is working toward the launch of its first commercial satellite in the first half of 2025, then a six-satellite block for daily global revisit and ultimately a 24-satellite constellation for five revisits per day. Financially, Albedo has raised financing across rounds and is positioning to scale manufacturing and operations with the new capital. Albedo develops very-low-earth-orbit (VLEO) satellites that will deliver ultra-high-resolution imagery, including 10 cm optical and 2 m thermal infrared data. The company plans to operate its low-flying satellites and offer imagery-as-a-service, developing both the satellite hardware and the software to support operations and image delivery. Albedo intends to fuse optical and thermal products to provide new insights for precision agriculture, HD mapping, insurance, utilities vegetation management, construction, pipeline monitoring, urban planning, and defense. The firm was recently awarded the first U.S. license to sell 10 cm imagery commercially and says its VLEO approach reduces costs while avoiding added contribution to orbital congestion. The Series A funding will enable completion of its first satellite and development of the software to support satellite operations and deliver imagery to users. The company has raised $58M in total funding in less than two years since inception. Albedo is building a constellation of low-orbit satellites designed to deliver "aerial-quality" Earth imagery with a technical target of 10-centimeter visual and 2-meter thermal resolution. The company aims to launch its first satellite in 2024 and deploy a full constellation by 2027; an eight-satellite fleet would enable daily revisits and a 24-satellite fleet would allow three revisits per day. Albedo expects customers across property insurance, mapping, utilities and other large enterprises. The startup graduated from Y Combinator and is leveraging advances such as cheaper launches, modular satellite construction, and cloud services like AWS Ground Station and Azure Orbital. It faces technical risk around in-orbit refueling for electric propulsion, and if that fails or drag is worse than expected, it may need to operate at higher orbits with reduced resolution (roughly 12–15 cm). Financially, Albedo recently closed a $10 million seed to hire staff, pay suppliers, fund satellite design and reserve launch capacity, and it plans to pursue a larger Series A in about a year.

Total raised

$93M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Jan 2024