SatLeo Labs, a spacetech company that offers high-resolution thermal and visible data collection from Low Earth Orbit (LEO), has raised a pre-Seed funding round of $3.3 million led by Merak Ventures. Huddle Ventures, GVFL, Java Capital, IIMA Ventures, PointOne Capital, as well as angel investors Manish Gandhi and Dheer Baldua, also joined this funding round.

This investment represents a crucial milestone in the efforts of SatLeo Labs to revolutionize earth observation using high-tech thermal imaging technology.

What Does SatLeo Labs Do?

SatLeo Labs, headquartered in Ahmedabad, is a leader in thermal and optical imaging in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Leveraging cutting-edge satellite technology, the startup offers critical insights intended to drive sustainable innovation across industries like agriculture, urban infrastructure, energy, climate, and national security.
"Each 1°C rise in temperature has the potential to cause a 10% decline in worldwide GDP. With our thermal insights, we are able to catch risks early before billion-dollar damages can be incurred due to factors such as crop losses and fires. We are transforming space data into resilience in the real world," said Shravan Bhati, SatLeo Labs Co-founder and CEO.

Fundraising Purpose

Raised funds will be used by SatLeo Labs to improve the research and development of its own in-house thermal imaging payload, to perform critical studies of feasibility, and to procure required regulatory licenses, according to the release.
Capital will further be used for team growth, infrastructure development, and pilot operations to enable the startup to validate its technology as well as augment industry partnerships, according to the release.

"This investment reflects our growing confidence in our vision to make India a world leader in space-based intelligence through cost-effective and reliable solutions," Bhati said.

Urmil Bakhai, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at SatLeo, stated that the market for Earth Observation (EO) data is anticipated to reach over $700 billion by 2030 and add $3.8 trillion to the global GDP. He highlighted that in addition to economic value, thermal EO can save 2 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions every year and support nature-positive efforts.

We are leading the development of a dual-band, high-resolution thermal payload for fused multispectral imaging, which will enable sustainable solutions in agriculture, environmental protection, climate-resilient urban development, and strategic defense," added Dr. Ranendu Ghosh, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at SatLeo Labs.