Bengaluru, Aug 30 (IANS): Global professional services company Accenture on Tuesday announced that it has made a strategic investment, through Accenture Ventures, in hyperspectral satellite company Pixxel to monitor Earth's health.
Pixxel is building the world's highest resolution hyperspectral imaging satellite constellation to offer industry AI-powered insights that discover, solve, and predict climate issues at a fraction of the cost of traditional satellites.
"We continue to take great interest in startups within the burgeoning space industry, which some have forecasted will reach $1 trillion in revenue by the year 2040, and Pixxel is a particularly exciting company sitting at the intersection of space technology and sustainability," Tom Lounibos, managing director, Accenture Ventures, said in a statement.
Pixxel's first commercial phase satellites are scheduled to be launched in early 2023, along with the commercial sale of its data.
With six satellites flown in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) around a 550 km altitude, Pixxel's hyperspectral constellation will be able to cover any point on the globe every 48 hours.
With even more satellites scheduled to launch in late 2023, Pixxel will achieve daily global coverage by early 2024.
Pixxel's satellites can capture images at hundreds of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum and reveal key data about the health of our planet that is invisible to other satellites.
The company's planned constellation of hyperspectral satellites will reshape how businesses across agriculture, defence, mining, environmental, and other critical industries make decisions on a global level to reduce their environmental impact.
Pixxel is the latest company to join Accenture Ventures' Project Spotlight, an engagement and investment programme focused on investing in companies that create or apply disruptive enterprise technologies.
"We are excited to join Accenture's Project Spotlight and collaborate with Accenture's innovation labs, business and industry experts, and powerful clients and ecosystem partners across aerospace, science, technology and sustainability," said Pixxel CEO and co-founder Awais Ahmed.