Accenture backs India space tech start-up Pixxel

Canada’s Radical Ventures led the Series A, which also featured Seraphim Space Investment, Lightspeed Partners, Inventus Capital Partners, and Blume Ventures, among others. Earlier backers include GrowX Ventures, Omnivore Capital, and Techstars.

Pixxel is building what it calls the world’s highest resolution hyperspectral imaging satellite constellation. The idea is to offer industry artificial intelligence-enabled insights to help discover, solve, and predict climate issues at a fraction of the cost of traditional satellites.

Pixxel’s satellites can capture images at hundreds of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum and is said to reveal key data about the Earth that is invisible to other satellites. The company claims the data from its satellites provides 8x more information and 50x better resolution than existing in-market options. Use-cases are expected to include agriculture, defence, mining, environmental, and other critical industries.

“We continue to take great interest in start-ups within the burgeoning space industry, which some have forecasted will reach USD 1trn in revenue by the year 2040, and Pixxel is a particularly exciting company sitting at the intersection of space technology and sustainability,” Tom Lounibos, a managing director at Accenture Ventures, said in a statement.

“Imagine being able to predict a famine before a crop infestation takes over or stop an oil spill before it endangers delicate oceanic biospheres. Pixxel’s hyperspectral imaging technology has the potential to do just that, and in doing so, could help scientists address some of the world’s most pressing challenges to our Earth.”

The first commercial phase satellites are scheduled to be launched in early 2023 along with the commercial sale of its data. The planned constellation of six satellites is hoped to be able to cover any point on the globe every 48 hours. More launches are planned for late 2023 as well, which could reduce the time needed to execute global coverage to 24 hours by 2024.

Pixxel is the latest company to join Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, an engagement and investment program focused on investing in companies that create or apply disruptive enterprise technologies. In addition to funding, Project Spotlight connects start-ups with business, offering access to Accenture’s domain expertise and enterprise clients.

“Our investment in Pixxel reflects our ongoing and active engagement with the promising startup ecosystem in India and more such engagements are key for creating solutions that drive real-world impact,” Mahesh Zurale, Accenture’s lead for its Advanced Technology Centers in India, added.

“With so many aspects of our daily lives being increasingly impacted by climate and sustainability issues, we believe Pixxel’s Earth health monitoring can play a crucial role by enabling global organizations to detect potentially damaging events early on and help prevent them.”

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Technology
• Early-stage
• India
• space