What Hydrosat does

Hydrosat is a Washington, DC-based climate technology company founded in 2017 that operates a proprietary constellation of thermal infrared satellites to deliver daily field-level agricultural analytics and government/defense imagery. Its technology stack centers on the LIRI (Longwave InfraRed Imager) sensor achieving 0.5 Kelvin temperature differential accuracy and the VIRI multispectral imager covering seven spectral bands from 458-900 nanometers. Two operational satellites (VanZyl-1 launched August 2024 on SpaceX Transporter-11 and VanZyl-2 launched June 2025 on SpaceX Transporter-14) jointly collect over 10 million square kilometers of imagery per day, enabling daily revisit cycles versus the 16-day cycles typical of legacy satellites.

The company's commercial product suite is anchored by the IrriWatch irrigation management platform acquired from the Netherlands in 2023, which provides daily irrigation recommendations, evapotranspiration mapping, soil moisture analysis, crop yield forecasting, and hyper-local weather forecasts. IrriWatch serves customers in 62 countries and monitors 120+ crop types across 2M+ hectares, with documented outcomes including up to 50% crop yield increases and 30% water usage reductions. Complementary products include Level-1 and Level-2 imagery data products delivered as Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFFs, a Crop Yield Forecast service validated against Fortune 500 agribusiness customers, and a Data Discovery Platform with a STAC API for programmatic enterprise access. Customer segments span commercial agriculture (Bayer, SupPlant, Nutradrip), civil government (NOAA), and defense and intelligence (NRO, US Air Force).

Hydrosat operates a multi-channel go-to-market combining enterprise direct sales, channel partners and distributors (notably across Latin America and Central Asia), and API-based data access. Revenue streams include acreage-based subscriptions for IrriWatch, government contracts (SBIR and sole-source awards totaling several million dollars), and programmatic API access. The company has raised $85M+ across seed, Series A, and Series B rounds, with the January 2026 Series B of $60M led by Hartree Partners, Subutai Capital Partners, and Space 4 Earth earmarked for global geographic expansion and constellation scaling. Headcount is 51-100 employees across offices in Washington DC, Carlsbad CA, Luxembourg, and Wageningen, Netherlands.

Name

Hydrosat

Legal name

Hydrosat, Inc.

Website

https://hydrosat.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hydrosat operates a proprietary constellation of thermal infrared satellites and the IrriWatch platform to deliver daily field-level irrigation analytics, crop yield forecasts, and environmental monitoring data for agriculture, civil government, and defense customers across 60+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Satellite-based Agricultural Analytics

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Farm Management Services (115116), Satellite Telecommunications (517410)

SIC

Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523)

akta.pro primary industry

Satellite Imagery & Monitoring Platforms (AFAAAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote Sensing & Imaging (Satellite, UAV/Drone, Aerial, Multispectral/Hyperspectral) (AFAGALAC), Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM), Irrigation Control & Automation (Controllers, Valves, Sensors, IoT) (AFAAACAF)

Keywords

• Thermal satellite imaging
• Precision irrigation analytics
• Agricultural intelligence platform
• Satellite data api
• Crop yield forecasting

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Satellite Data Subscriptions: Subscription-based access to thermal infrared satellite imagery and analytics through the IrriWatch platform and Data Discovery Portal. Pricing is geographically based and decreases with larger acreage commitments.
2. Government Contracts: Contracts with US government agencies including NOAA ($650,000 SBIR Phase II), NRO ($1.2M+), and US Air Force ($1.9M) for thermal imagery and climate monitoring data.
3. API and Data Access: Programmatic access to satellite imagery catalog via STAC API, with authenticated access through API clients for enterprise and developer customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hydrosat operates a proprietary constellation of thermal infrared satellites (VanZyl-1 and VanZyl-2) to deliver daily high-resolution imagery and analytics for agricultural water management. Its core commercial product is the IrriWatch irrigation management platform, providing field-level irrigation recommendations, crop yield forecasting, evapotranspiration mapping, and soil moisture analytics. Data is delivered via a web portal, mobile application, and STAC API for programmatic enterprise and developer access.

Product overview

Hydrosat is a climate technology company offering a unified platform combining satellite-based thermal infrared data acquisition and AI-powered agricultural analytics. The core product is the IrriWatch irrigation management platform (acquired in 2023), which provides daily field-level irrigation recommendations, crop yield forecasting, and water productivity analytics. This is supported by Hydrosat's proprietary constellation of VanZyl satellites (VanZyl-1 launched 2024, VanZyl-2 launched 2025) equipped with thermal infrared (LIRI) and multispectral (VIRI) sensors. Data access is provided through the Data Discovery Platform (web interface) and STAC API. The product suite also includes specialized data products (Level-1 and Level-2 imagery), Crop Yield Forecast AI analytics, evapotranspiration mapping, and crop classification services. The company serves agricultural, civil government, and defense customers across 60+ countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IrriWatch: Advanced irrigation management software providing field-level analytics for irrigation planning, crop management, water productivity, and water compliance monitoring. Delivers daily updates on leaf and soil temperatures, soil moisture content, water consumption, agricultural production, leaf nitrogen content, carbon sequestration analysis, and hyper-local weather forecasts.

Products and services

• IrriWatch Irrigation Management Platform Subscription-based irrigation management platform delivering daily field-level analytics, irrigation recommendations, evapotranspiration mapping, soil moisture analysis, leaf nitrogen monitoring, and hyper-local weather forecasts for farmers and agribusinesses across 120+ crop types.
• Data Discovery Platform Web-based interface for visually browsing, searching, previewing, and downloading Hydrosat's satellite imagery catalog including Level-1A, Level-1B, and Level-2 products for enterprise and developer customers.
• STAC API SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog API for programmatically searching and accessing Hydrosat's thermal and multispectral satellite imagery data via OAuth2-authenticated queries; data is delivered as Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFFs (COGs) for enterprise and developer integration.
• Level-1 Satellite Imagery (L1A/L1B) Standard satellite imagery data products: Level-1A provides top-of-atmosphere radiance values from LIRI and VIRI sensors, while Level-1B includes reflectance/brightness temperature conversion, cloud masking, and orthorectification at 30m resolution in 70km x 70km granules.
• Level-2 Satellite Imagery Analysis-ready satellite imagery including radiometric terrain corrections and conversion to surface reflectance and land surface temperature, delivered as Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFFs at 30m resolution in UTM projection for direct use in AI and GIS applications.
• Crop Yield Forecast AI-powered crop yield forecasting product using thermal satellite imagery and machine learning to deliver highly accurate predictions, achieving 0.75% error rate for U.S. Corn and 1.01% for U.S. Soybean in pilot testing with Fortune 500 agriculture and food processing companies.
• Evapotranspiration Mapping Daily plant water use measurement through evapotranspiration data, integrated into the IrriWatch platform, helping growers fine-tune irrigation strategies by quantifying actual crop water consumption.
• Crop Classification Machine learning-based crop classification product using satellite imagery to deliver in-season crop maps across the United States for agricultural monitoring, supply chain planning, and government reporting.
• VanZyl-1 Satellite Imagery Service Thermal infrared and multispectral imagery service from VanZyl-1, Hydrosat's first pathfinder satellite, hosting first-generation LIRI (thermal IR: 10.6-12.51 micrometers) and VIRI (7 VNIR bands: 458-900 nanometers) sensors, acquiring mid-morning imagery.
• VanZyl-2 Satellite Imagery Service Thermal infrared and multispectral imagery service from VanZyl-2, Hydrosat's second pathfinder satellite hosting the same LIRI and VIRI sensors as VanZyl-1 but acquiring mid-afternoon imagery, increasing daily collection capacity by 4X to 8 million square kilometers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Crop yields can increase by up to 50% through optimized irrigation management
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability6 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary (KGS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026Joint Activity Agreement signed in Brussels to launch national-scale program digitizing water resources management using satellite-based thermal infrared analytics and AI across Kazakhstan. Combines Hydrosat's thermal infrared satellite data and AI analytics with KGS's national geospatial infrastructure and Copernicus Sentinel data, with potential expansion across Central Asia targeting water-stressed agricultural regions.
• Rhama AnalysiscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 February 2026Strategic partnership to establish intelligent water management solution in Brazilian market. Collaboration combines Hydrosat's thermal intelligence capabilities with Rhama Analysis' hydrological and risk prediction models to deliver actionable water resource insights for agriculture, industry, energy, sanitation, and public administration sectors.
• NSF Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine (Arizona State University and Desert Research Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2024Partnership with ASU and DRI under NSF-supported Southwest Engine to provide actionable water and climate solutions for the Southwest US region. Enables Hydrosat to support next generation scientists and engineers while providing cutting-edge solutions for water and climate issues.
• Muon SpacecoreTechnology or Integration · 2 November 2023Muon Space provides Hydrosat's Constellation-as-a-Service (CaaS) satellite platform for the VanZyl-2 mission. Muon Space integrated Hydrosat's proprietary multispectral and thermal infrared imaging instruments onto their Halo spacecraft platform. The partnership enables rapid deployment of thermal sensing technology on high-performance platforms.
• Loft OrbitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationLaunch partner for VanZyl-1 mission. Loft Orbital hosted Hydrosat's thermal infrared payload on the YAM-7 mission (SpaceX Transporter-11) as a rideshare arrangement for the first pathfinder mission.
• ABBcoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of infrared cameras for Hydrosat's satellites. ABB's camera technology demonstrated impressive results on the VanZyl-1 mission and is set to enhance water scarcity insights with upcoming launches.
• Simera SensecoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of imagers for Hydrosat's satellites, working in partnership with ABB for manufacturing the imaging instruments.
• European Space Agency (ESA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESA awarded Hydrosat a contract for water productivity mapping tool. Partnership enables large-scale water productivity mapping across European agricultural regions using Hydrosat's thermal satellite data.
• EE Print Pack (Agrolika)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMexican agribusiness supplier that will bring Hydrosat's IrriWatch technology to Mexico via its newly launched Agrolika division, targeting growers to improve water use efficiency.
• Rex Irrigación HuastecacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMexican irrigation company integrating IrriWatch into its offerings for the Huasteca region, providing real-time actionable insights for crop and livestock producers.
• Grupo InderscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMexican company marketing Hydrosat's IrriWatch to agricultural operations across Latin America, extending advanced technology to small, medium, and large-scale operations.
• Irritec MexicominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNew partnership announced December 2025 with Irritec Mexico to advance water management solutions in Mexican agricultural markets.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Planet Labs: Publicly traded operator of the largest commercial earth-observation satellite constellation, providing daily global imagery. Direct peer in satellite-based imagery and data products, with overlapping agriculture, government, and defense customer segments but a much broader optical-focused fleet.
• Ceres Imaging: Aerial (airplane/drone) precision agriculture imagery provider serving growers and agribusiness with field-level analytics. Directly comparable on customer base (Bayer, large agribusiness), use cases (irrigation, crop stress), and analytics offerings — and a former employer of Hydrosat's VP of Sales.
• Taranis: Precision agriculture intelligence platform combining aerial imagery, satellite data, and AI-driven field analytics for agribusiness and growers. Directly comparable on agricultural customers, analytics products, and the combination of remote sensing with agronomic decision-support.

Emerging players

• Pixxel: India-based operator building a commercial hyperspectral earth-observation constellation. Comparable as a next-generation satellite imagery startup pursuing precision agriculture and climate-monitoring use cases, though focused on hyperspectral rather than thermal IR.
• ICEYE: Operator of a commercial SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation serving government, defense, and commercial markets. Comparable in being a venture-backed constellation operator pursuing frequent-revisit imagery, though SAR offers different sensing capabilities than thermal IR.
• Satellogic: Publicly listed operator of an earth-observation nanosatellite constellation serving agriculture, government, and defense markets. Comparable as a constellation operator pursuing high-revisit imagery for similar end markets, though focused on multispectral rather than thermal.
• GHGSat: Canadian operator of satellites specialized in methane and greenhouse gas emissions monitoring. Comparable as a venture-backed thermal/IR satellite operator serving climate, environmental, and industrial customers with high-resolution analytics.
• Descartes Labs: Geospatial analytics company that fuses satellite imagery with AI/ML for agriculture, supply chain, and sustainability use cases. Comparable as a satellite-data-plus-AI analytics platform serving agriculture and government end markets.

Broad incumbents

• Maxar Technologies: Large established satellite imagery and space infrastructure provider serving defense, intelligence, and commercial customers with high-resolution optical and SAR satellites. Overlaps with Hydrosat in government/defense thermal and imagery analytics, though Maxar's portfolio is far broader.
• Orbital Insight: Geospatial analytics company providing satellite-imagery-derived insights across agriculture, energy, defense, and sustainability. Comparable in applying AI to satellite imagery at scale for commercial and government customers, though working primarily with third-party satellite sources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/Hydrosat/vz-tutorials
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hydrosat

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds12 records

Investors25 records

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Hydrosat