What Planet does

Planet Labs PBC operates the world's largest commercial Earth observation satellite constellation, providing near-daily global coverage through five distinct fleets: SuperDove/PlanetScope (3.7m monitoring), SkySat (50cm tasking), Pelican (30-50cm next-generation tasking with onboard AI), Tanager (hyperspectral with 400+ bands), and the planned Owl (1m-class monitoring). The company serves government defense and intelligence agencies (NGA, U.S. Navy, Swedish Armed Forces, allied militaries) as well as civil government, agriculture, energy, forestry, finance, and sustainability customers, with approximately 85% of revenue derived from government and defense entities. Its Planet Insights Platform integrates imagery, derived products (Planet Analytic Feeds, Planetary Variables, Planet Mosaics, Planet SuperRes, hyperspectral methane detection), and AI-powered analytics (object detection, change detection, onboard edge inference via NVIDIA Jetson, ESRGAN-based resolution enhancement, and autonomous target detection) into a cloud-native stack accessible via APIs, GIS integrations, and self-serve portals.

The business model combines multi-year subscription contracts for monitoring data, government tasking contracts (often eight-figure values), usage-based high-resolution tasking ($6-$40 per square kilometer), and tiered platform subscriptions ($28 to $916 per month). Distribution spans direct enterprise sales (especially for government accounts), self-serve channels (Planet Select via SkyFi, Tasking Dashboard), and the Planet Orbit partner ecosystem. Q1 FY2027 revenue reached $94.2M (42% YoY growth), the backlog stood at $906M (72% YoY growth), and FY2027 guidance was raised to $425-441M. The company maintains a strong balance sheet with $731M in cash and short-term investments, is publicly traded on NYSE under ticker PL as a Public Benefit Corporation, and is expanding operations with a new Berlin manufacturing facility intended to double Pelican production capacity.

Name

Planet

Legal name

Planet Labs PBC

Website

http://www.planet.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Planet Labs PBC operates the world's largest commercial Earth observation satellite constellation, delivering near-daily global imagery and AI-powered analytics to government defense, intelligence, agriculture, and commercial customers across multiple continents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Earth Observation Satellite Imagery and Geospatial Analytics

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (54137), Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370), Satellite Telecommunications (51741), Space Research and Technology (92711)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote Sensing & Geospatial MRV (Satellite, Aerial, LiDAR, SAR) (EUABACAF), Satellite Imagery & Monitoring Platforms (AFAAAFAI), Remote Sensing & Geospatial Vision (satellite/drone imagery) (HDAAAEAL), Spacecraft & Satellites (Civil/Commercial) (IMABACAB), Carbon, Sustainability & Traceability MRV (Field-Level Measurement/Reporting/Verification) (AFABAMAK)

Keywords

• Earth observation satellites
• Satellite imagery analytics
• Geospatial data platform
• Remote sensing services
• Hyperspectral imaging

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. PlanetScope Monitoring Subscriptions: Annual subscription model providing near-daily global PlanetScope imagery over specified areas of interest. Tiered pricing based on geographic coverage (Global, Tier One, Tier Two, Tier Three) with pricing ranging from $2,700 to $9,650 annually. Includes access to historical archive and new captures during subscription period.
2. Planet Insights Platform Subscriptions: Cloud-native platform access with tiered plans (Exploration $28/mo, Basic $91/mo, Enterprise Small $458/mo, Enterprise Large $916/mo) providing API access, processing units, and data analytics capabilities. Processing units consumed for data requests and analysis.
3. High-Resolution Tasking: On-demand satellite tasking with per-square-kilometer pricing ($12/km² flexible, $40/km² assured tasking). SkySat archive access at $6/km². Minimum 25 sq km order. Revenue recognized upon imagery delivery.
4. Government Defense & Intelligence Contracts: Multi-year government contracts including $22 million NGA maritime surveillance extension, $7.5 million U.S. Navy vessel detection renewal, and eight-figure international defense contracts. Government/defense customers represent approximately 85% of revenue with $816 million remaining performance obligations.
5. European Government Agricultural Monitoring: Multi-year government contracts for agricultural compliance monitoring under Common Agricultural Policy. Two-year, seven-figure contracts with Greece and Czech Republic through ESA for satellite imagery and AI-powered analytics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Planet Labs PBC operates the world's largest commercial Earth observation satellite constellation, capturing daily imagery of Earth's entire landmass at multiple resolutions (3.7m to 30cm) and selling the resulting data, analytics and a cloud-native platform to government, defense, agriculture and enterprise customers. Core products include PlanetScope/SuperDove daily monitoring, SkySat/Pelican high-resolution tasking, and Tanager hyperspectral imaging, all integrated with the Planet Insights Platform for analytics and AI-powered object detection.

Product overview

Planet Labs PBC operates as a comprehensive Earth observation data company offering a multi-satellite constellation portfolio and cloud-native analytics platform. The core constellation includes four distinct satellite systems: SuperDove/PlanetScope for near-daily 3m monitoring of Earth's entire landmass; SkySat for 50cm high-resolution tasking with sub-daily revisit; Pelican for next-generation 30-50cm tasking with onboard AI edge processing; and Tanager for hyperspectral imaging with 400+ spectral bands. The Planet Insights Platform serves as the central hub integrating all satellite data through APIs, GIS tools, and analytical capabilities. Add-on modules extend the platform including Analytic Feeds (automated object detection and change detection), Planet Hyperspectral (methane detection), Planetary Variables (derived data products like soil moisture and crop biomass), Planet Mosaics (analysis-ready composite imagery), and Planet SuperRes (AI-enhanced 2m resolution). High-resolution tasking services include Planet Select (self-service portal via SkyFi) and Planet Tasking Dashboard (credit-based enterprise tasking).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SuperDove: Near-daily global coverage constellation with 3-meter resolution
• SkySat
• Pelican
• Tanager
• Owl
• Planet Insights Platform
• PlanetScope
• Planet Analytic Feeds
• Planet Hyperspectral
• Planetary Variables
• Planet SuperRes
• Planet Mosaics
• Planet Tasking
• Planet Monitoring

Products and services

• PlanetScope (SuperDove) Planet's flagship monitoring constellation providing near-daily global coverage at 3.7m resolution with 8 spectral bands; the world's largest fleet offering frequent revisits of Earth's landmass for continuous change detection and analysis.
• SkySat High-resolution tasking constellation delivering 50cm precision imagery with sub-daily revisit capability; approximately 15 satellites provide rapid, on-demand tasking for detailed site-specific intelligence.
• Pelican Next-generation tasking satellite system with 30-50cm class high-resolution imagery, on-orbit analytics via NVIDIA Jetson edge AI platform, and multiple revisits per day; Gen 2 planned for 30cm resolution.
• Tanager Hyperspectral imaging satellite offering over 400 spectral bands (400-2500nm) at 30m resolution with 3-6x more sensitivity than comparable spaceborne systems; supports methane detection, vegetation monitoring and material identification.
• Owl Next-generation monitoring satellite constellation designed to deliver near-daily 1-meter class imagery of Earth's entire landmass; planned 60+km swath width with PlanetScope-compatible bands and panchromatic sensor.
• Planet Insights Platform Cloud-native centralized platform combining daily Earth data, derived data products, and analytical tools; provides GIS integrations, developer APIs and cloud delivery for accessing, processing, visualizing and analyzing satellite data at scale.
• Planet Monitoring Subscription service providing near-daily satellite imagery coverage over specified areas of interest; powered by hundreds of Dove satellites capturing Earth nearly every day with 3.7m resolution images in RGB and NIR bands, accessible via APIs and web application.
• Planet Tasking High-resolution on-demand satellite tasking service providing 50cm precision imagery sub-daily; offers Standard Collect, Stereo Collection for 3D models and DEM construction, and Video capture up to 120 seconds; delivery within 4 hours of capture.
• Planet Analytic Feeds Automated cloud-based analytics service transforming daily imagery into insights; features building detection, road detection, automated change detection, vessel detection and aircraft detection using deep learning and computer vision.
• Planet Hyperspectral Hyperspectral data service from Tanager satellites providing over 400 spectral bands at 30m resolution; delivers core imagery (radiance and surface reflectance) and derived methane detection products (Quicklook and Quality Controlled).
• Planetary Variables Analysis-ready derived data products quantifying Earth's changing conditions; includes Soil Water Content (daily at 100m/1km), Crop Biomass (daily at 10m), Land Surface Temperature (100m/1km), Forest Carbon (<5m) and Field Boundaries.
• Planet Mosaics Frequently updated, analysis-ready imagery mosaics providing consistent coverage over areas of interest; includes Visual Mosaics, SuperRes Mosaics (2m AI-enhanced), Normalized Surface Reflectance Mosaics, Global Mosaic, and Custom Mosaic options.
• Planet SuperRes AI-powered imagery enhancement service using generative AI (ESRGAN) to sharpen 3m PlanetScope near-daily imagery into 2m resolution; available as SuperRes Mosaics for broad areas and SuperRes PlanetScope Scenes for on-demand analysis.
• Planet Select Self-service satellite tasking portal offering pay-as-you-go access to order individual high-resolution tasking images for ad-hoc projects through a 100% digital experience.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90-95% field-validated accuracy in sugarcane yield predictions for Farmdar clients
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Isar AerospacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026Strategic launch partnership to launch a German-built Pelican satellite on Isar's Spectrum rocket from Andøya Spaceport in late 2026, marking Germany's first all-domestic satellite-rocket mission. Both the satellite and rocket will be manufactured in Germany, with Planet simultaneously expanding Berlin manufacturing to double Pelican production capacity.
• Defense Innovation UnitcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 4 June 2026Partnership with Defense Innovation Unit for Global Monitoring Service providing near-daily change detection using SuperDove constellation and AI-enabled analytics for U.S. defense and intelligence users.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 May 2026Google's Project Suncatcher initiative targeting orbital AI data center demonstration with prototype launch planned around 2027. Planet collaborating with Google on satellite design for testing TPU chips aboard solar-powered satellites networked as AI computing cluster. Initial mission targeting two prototype satellites.
• Sky Perfect JSATcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026$230 million deal for 10 Pelican optical satellites, representing major commercial commitment to Planet's next-generation high-resolution imaging fleet.
• Carbon MappercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 December 2025Partnership with Carbon Mapper foundation for methane emission detection using Tanager hyperspectral satellites, providing facility-scale methane emission mapping to enhance leak detection and repair efforts.
• Bedrock ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 December 2025Acquired geospatial AI solutions company to expand AI-driven data solutions business, integrating Bedrock's expertise in AI workflows and remote sensing to enhance global monitoring and security offerings.
• NvidiacoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership using NVIDIA Jetson AI platform for onboard satellite edge computing, enabling satellites to analyze data and extract insights before transmission to reduce latency and data bottlenecks.
• European Space Agency (ESA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorESA facilitates government contracts for Planet including Greek National Satellite Space Project and Czech Republic agricultural monitoring, enabling EU member state access to Planet data.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Maxar Intelligence: Maxar is the closest direct peer: a pure-play commercial Earth observation and geospatial intelligence company selling high-resolution satellite imagery (WorldView Legion, 30 cm class) and analytics to the same defense/intel and government customers as Planet. Both compete head-to-head in the U.S. and allied defense mission workflows.
• BlackSky Technology: BlackSky operates a low-orbit small-sat constellation (Gen-3) combined with AI-driven analytics and a Spectra tasking platform, directly mirroring Planet's PlanetScope/SkySat model. Both target defense, intelligence and commercial monitoring customers with sub-daily revisit and automated change detection.
• Satellogic: Satellogic builds and operates a commercial EO small-satellite constellation offering sub-meter imagery and monitoring for agriculture, defense, and government customers, with a similar asset-light, vertically integrated model to Planet. Most direct Planet analog outside the U.S.
• ICEYE: ICEYE operates the world's largest commercial SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation, providing high-frequency Earth observation imagery to defense, intelligence and commercial customers. Directly comparable in business model (constellation-as-a-service, government/enterprise sales) but differentiated by SAR vs. optical modality.

Broad incumbents

• Airbus Defence and Space — Geo-Intelligence: Airbus's Geo-Intelligence division sells Pléiades and SPOT optical imagery alongside OneAtlas analytics to the same defense and civil-government buyers as Planet. A larger, broader European incumbent competing with Planet for EU defence ministry and Copernicus/ESA framework contracts.
• Spire Global: Spire operates a large commercial small-satellite constellation focused on RF/geospatial data (maritime AIS, weather, aviation), not optical imagery. Comparable in constellation operations and data-as-a-service model, useful as a smallsat peer benchmark even though the underlying data modality differs from Planet's EO.

Emerging players

• Capella Space: Capella operates a commercial SAR satellite constellation offering high-resolution all-weather imagery to defense and commercial customers. Comparable to Planet's monitoring and tasking propositions in business model and customer base, differentiated by SAR and at smaller constellation scale.
• Umbra: Umbra operates a commercial SAR constellation with very-high-resolution imagery for defense, intelligence and commercial markets. Overlaps with Planet in customer segments and subscription-based analytics selling motion, at smaller scale and with SAR imagery.
• GHGSat: GHGSat operates purpose-built satellites for facility-scale methane and greenhouse-gas detection. Closest direct competitor to Planet's Tanager hyperspectral methane product line, serving the same oil & gas, environmental and carbon-credit verification buyers via a similar target-area tasking model.
• Synspective: Synspective builds and operates a commercial SAR satellite constellation (StriX) for government and infrastructure monitoring across Asia-Pacific. Comparable niche overlap with Planet in EO-as-a-service for defense and civil-government customers, focused on regional markets rather than global.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/planet
• Facebookfacebook.com/PlanetLabs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/planet-labs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds13 records

Investors34 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A6 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Planet