Privateer, the space data company of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, reportedly acquired Palo Alto-based analytics startup Orbital Insight for an undisclosed amount.
Reuters said in its exclusive report that the company also raised $56.5 million in its Series A funding round last April, with Aero X Ventures, Luxe Capital, Boca, Starburst, the Winklevoss twins, and two other firms participating.
The merger meant that Privateer would add mapping and intelligence services to the company's space data services.
In its press release dated Monday (May 6), Privateer - founded in 2021 to assist satellite operators in navigating their spacecraft in an increasingly crowding Earth orbit, said that its purchase of Orbital meant that the latter's TerraScope observation platform would be combined with their satellite-tracking software.
"The applications and possibilities are truly endless for this powerful combination of technologies," the firm added.
Privateer Ventures Into Space Sustainability
Privateer CEO Alex Fielding also told Reuters that the new funding allowed the company to close the deal to acquire Orbital, whose technologies fuse multiple data sources, from cellphone location to satellite imagery, to improve space situational awareness (SSA).
With the merger, Privateer could offer its SSA technology and services to satellite imagery companies to improve its navigation systems and minimize the possibility of colliding with space junk and becoming such.
Space.com reported last December that Privateer launched a satellite called Pono aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to encourage space users to share assets to minimize orbital clutter in Earth orbit, in an apparent motive to "ride share" satellite data just like the spacecraft was in a rideshare mission with D-Orbit's ION Satellite Carrier.
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