Perceptive Space has emerged from stealth and announced $3.9 million CAD in pre-seed funding to provide better space weather forecasts using artificial intelligence (AI).
Space weather, which can include radiation, solar flares, and geomagnetic storms, can disrupt satellite operations, communication systems, and terrestrial power grids.
“Everyone is thinking about how to make [space activity] cheap. We’re thinking about how to make it safe.”
Led by founder and CEO Padmashri Suresh, a former space weather researcher with a background in tech, the Toronto-based startup plans to use this capital to accelerate the development of its AI-powered space weather monitoring and prediction software, which it aims to launch in 2025 to help companies launch and operate satellites more safely.
In an interview with BetaKit, Suresh noted that the commercial space industry has already made “amazing new things possible in such a short amount of time,” highlighting that advancements by firms like Elon Musk’s SpaceX have reduced the cost of building and launching satellites.
“We want to make sure, whether it’s technology or people, we are resilient to the space environment and space weather,” Suresh said. “In a lot of ways, everyone is thinking about how to make [space activity] cheap. We’re thinking about how to make it safe.”
Perceptive’s pre-seed financing closed in May and marks its first external funding to date. Raised via simple agreement for future equity, the round was led by Montréal-based Panache Ventures, with support from a group of investors who specialize in AI and space tech, including Estonia’s Metaplanet, London, UK-based 7percent Ventures, San Francisco’s Mythos Ventures, and New York City-based AIN Ventures.
Currently, space weather information is provided by government agencies like the United States (US) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, groups that Suresh said often have competing priorities and budgetary constraints. According to Perceptive, existing space weather forecasts “often lack the accuracy, lead times, and decision intelligence needed for modern operations.”
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Founded in 2022, Perceptive has set its sights on providing better space weather forecasts with the help of AI. Perceptive claims it uses AI and sensor fusion to analyze decades of space weather and operational data gathered from the public domain, customers, and partners. With its proof-of-concept, Perceptive says it has demonstrated space weather predictions that are up to 10 times more accurate than existing forecasts at the bench scale.
“In our conversations with satellite companies, accurate space weather prediction is one of the top requirements to launch, manoeuvre, and manage a modern fleet of satellites,” Panache general partner Prashant Matta told BetaKit. “What distinguishes Perceptive is its AI-first approach that allows it to augment traditional space weather forecasting techniques and improve the accuracy to provide near-real-time updates.”
Suresh brings a mix of space and tech expertise to the table. The former systems engineer and data scientist previously built AI products for different companies and worked on small spacecraft missions as well as space weather modelling through a US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) fellowship at Utah State University, where she completed her PhD in the electrical engineering of space systems.
7percent partner Jeff Crusey told BetaKit that during his time investing in space tech, he has seen many companies attempt to put up satellites with expensive sensors to monitor space weather, noting that he did not see the need for another sensor-based offering.
The venture capital firm did however see an opportunity for an all-software solution, provided it came from a team with experience modelling and forecasting space weather. In Suresh, Crusey said 7percent “[found] the technical background we’d been looking for.”
For his part, Matta described Suresh as “an exceptional technical founder with both AI and space tech expertise and deep understanding of customer demand in the industry.”
Perceptive’s now five-person team also includes other folks with experience in space weather, machine learning, and aerospace engineering from NASA, Los Alamos National Labs, and MIT, and developing AI-enabled products for clients like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, the research and development arm of the US Department of Defense), Google, Meta, and Amazon Web Services.
Suresh highlighted that humans are already using satellites for important applications back on Earth, from facilitating internet access to observing climate change and forest fires. Accurate space weather forecasts could be useful to companies and organizations using satellites, she claimed.
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She anticipates more use cases for space weather forecasting will emerge, from space mining to other applications that impact Earth.
Last year saw a record number of objects sent into space, according to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and the number of satellites sent into space has rapidly increased since 2019. Per the agency, there are nearly 12,000 human-made objects currently in orbit around Earth. Of those, more than 3,000 were launched by SpaceX’s Starlink just since the beginning of 2023.
As satellites proliferate, Matta believes that there are big opportunities for entrepreneurs building software and data layers to support the commercial space industry. “We believe Perceptive is very well positioned to win this AI software category,” he added.
“We believe Perceptive Space is very well positioned to win this AI software category.”
“In recent years we’ve seen a lot of satellites knocked out of orbit or lost entirely to space weather,” Crusey said. “As there are more satellites [in] orbit there will be more space weather incidents causing billions of dollars in losses unless mitigating action is taken.”
Perceptive is targeting space and defence markets in the US and allied countries, and claims it has already secured “early commitments” from several satellite operators and launch providers. To start, Perceptive has set its sights on companies that launch or operate satellites, but over time, Suresh hopes to expand to other parts of the space industry and terrestrial operations.
For her part, Suresh expects a lot more progress in space tech and travel capabilities during her lifetime. “I do envision us truly becoming a multiplanetary civilization in our generation,” she said. “We will actually get to see it. I truly believe that’s where we are going.”
Whether or not this is going to happen is an open question of much debate. If it does happen, Suresh sees room for Perceptive to play a role in ensuring safety along the way. “Essentially, we exist to make sure that on the way to getting there, none of us become burnt toast,” she said with a laugh.
UPDATE (08/06/24): This story has been updated to include commentary from 7percent Ventures partner Jeff Crusey.
Feature image courtesy Pixabay. Photo via Pexels.
