PlanetIQ
PlanetiQ operates a commercial GNSS radio occultation satellite constellation that delivers high-precision atmospheric and space weather data primarily to U.S. government agencies (NOAA, USAF, Navy, Space Force, NASA) and secondarily to commercial sectors including aviation, insurance, energy, and agriculture.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersGolden, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What PlanetIQ does
PlanetiQ (legal entity: Global Weather & Climate Solutions, Inc.) is a privately held space-based atmospheric observation company headquartered in Golden, Colorado, that operates a commercial constellation of GNSS Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) satellites. The company's core technology centers on the proprietary Pyxis fourth-generation receiver, which detects how signals from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou satellites bend as they pass through Earth's atmosphere, deriving high-precision vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, humidity, and ionospheric conditions under all weather conditions globally. The GNOMES-4 and GNOMES-5 satellites, launched in December 2023 and August 2024 respectively aboard SpaceX vehicles, carry Pyxis sensors and additional capabilities including polarimetric (GNSS-PRO) precipitation detection, GNSS reflectometry (GNSS-R), and Total Electron Content (TEC) data for space weather. As of mid-2026 the company delivers over 7,000 atmospheric profiles per day.
The business is structured around enterprise field sales to government and commercial customers. Government revenue flows through multi-year procurement contracts with NOAA's Commercial Data Program (RODB-2, $24.3M award in September 2025 — NOAA's largest commercial satellite weather data purchase on record), the U.S. Air Force (four-year $15M STRATFI contract awarded April 2026 for next-generation spacecraft), NASA CSDA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Space Force. ECMWF ingests the data operationally in Europe. Commercial monetization targets aviation, insurance, energy, renewables, agriculture, commodities trading, and maritime via data subscriptions and usage-based agreements, though specific commercial revenue and customer logos are not disclosed. The company was founded circa 2015 by Chris McCormick (Chairman/President), who leads approximately 30 employees alongside CEO Ira Scharf (appointed February 2023) and Chief Scientist Dr. Robert Kursinski.
Approximately $37.6M in disclosed equity funding was raised historically across 2017-2019 rounds, led by AV8 Ventures and New Science Ventures. The constellation currently operates multiple satellites toward a stated 20-satellite target, with future capability under the STRATFI contract adding next-generation GNSS-RO, GNSS-R, and GNSS-PRO instruments. The primary value proposition is delivering GNSS-RO data with the industry's highest signal-to-noise ratio (over 7x competitors) and deep lower troposphere penetration, enabling weather forecasting improvements, space weather monitoring, GNSS interference detection, and AI model training inputs for government and commercial users.
PlanetIQ firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PlanetIQ
- Legal name
- Global Weather & Climate Solutions, Inc.
- Website
- https://planetiq.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- PlanetiQ operates a commercial GNSS radio occultation satellite constellation that delivers high-precision atmospheric and space weather data primarily to U.S. government agencies (NOAA, USAF, Navy, Space Force, NASA) and secondarily to commercial sectors including aviation, insurance, energy, and agriculture.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PlanetIQ industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Earth Observation Data Services
- NAICS
- Satellite Telecommunications (51741), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)
- SIC
- Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Space Defense & Missile Warning (BPAIAHAF)
Keywords
Where PlanetIQ is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Golden
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
PlanetIQ business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Government Data Contracts: Long-term contracts with U.S. government agencies including NOAA's Commercial Data Program (RODB-2), U.S. Air Force (STRATFI), and data delivery agreements with NASA, Navy, and Space Force. Revenue is generated through delivery of GNSS-RO profiles and ionospheric data on a per-profile basis.
- Commercial Data Sales: Sale of GNSS-RO data to commercial customers including aviation, insurance, energy, agriculture, and financial services companies for weather forecasting, risk assessment, and operational planning.
- Signal Intelligence Data: Data gathered from satellites for mapping GNSS interference, spoofing, and jamming detection sold to government and defense customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Annual | NOAA RODB-2 DO-5 Contract - 7,000 profiles/day with enhanced high-SNR option |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
PlanetIQ product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PlanetiQ operates a commercial satellite constellation equipped with its proprietary Pyxis fourth-generation GNSS-RO receiver to deliver atmospheric and ionospheric data products globally. The company sells GNSS-RO atmospheric profiles (temperature, pressure, water vapor), polarimetric radio occultation data for precipitation detection, GNSS reflectometry data for surface measurements, and Total Electron Content data for space weather to government agencies and commercial customers under multi-year contracts.
Product overview
PlanetiQ operates a satellite constellation-based atmospheric observation system delivering mission-critical GNSS Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) weather data. The core offering centers on the Pyxis sensor technology deployed across GNOMES satellites (GNOMES-4, GNOMES-5), which collect atmospheric profiles from all four GNSS constellations. The product portfolio includes standard GNSS-RO data products, Polarimetric Radio Occultation (GNSS-PRO) for precipitation detection, GNSS-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) for surface measurements, Total Electron Content data for space weather, and GNSS Signal Intelligence for interference detection. Data is delivered daily to NOAA, NASA, U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Space Force under operational contracts including a $24.3M NOAA contract and $15M STRATFI award.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- GNSS-RO Data Products Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation data products providing atmospheric temperature, pressure, water vapor profiles, and ionospheric measurements with the market's highest signal-to-noise ratio, delivered to government agencies and commercial customers worldwide.
- Total Electron Content (TEC) Data Ionosphere monitoring data product providing Total Electron Content measurements, electron density profiles, sporadic E layer detection, and scintillation monitoring for space weather applications, rated 'best-in-class' by NASA CSDA.
- GNSS Signal Intelligence Data Signal intelligence data product providing detection and monitoring of GNSS interference, jamming, and spoofing using RO satellite signal amplitude and phase characteristics, sold to government and defense customers for global situational awareness.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 2 million atmospheric and ionospheric profiles collected since 2021
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use PlanetIQ
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
PlanetIQ technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature5 records
PlanetIQ partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- U.S. Air ForcecoreFour-year $15 million STRATFI (Strategic Funding Increase) contract to develop and launch spacecraft with next-generation GNSS-RO, GNSS-PRO, and GNSS-R instruments for terrestrial and space weather data collection, supporting Department of the Air Force AI model training and data assimilation.
- NASAcoreNASA CSDA Program evaluation rated PlanetiQ data as 'Best-in-Class' with data available to approved U.S. government researchers through NASA's CSDA program. PlanetiQ data fills critical coverage gaps where COSMIC-2 observations are unavailable, supporting national security missions including Golden Dome.
- NOAAcore$24.3 million contract under NOAA's Commercial Data Program RODB-2 DO-5 to deliver 7,000 GNSS-RO profiles per day, 500 enhanced high-SNR profiles, and 2,500 TEC tracks daily. Data used by NOAA, NASA, USAF, and U.S. Navy for numerical weather prediction and space weather applications.
- SpaceXcoreSpaceX provides launch services for PlanetiQ satellites via Transporter rideshare missions. GNOMES-5 launched August 15, 2024 aboard Transporter-11 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Previous launches include GNOMES-4 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9.
- U.S. NavymajorU.S. Navy utilizes PlanetiQ GNSS-RO data for ingestion into numerical weather prediction models and operational weather forecasting applications.
- U.S. Space ForcemajorU.S. Space Force uses PlanetiQ ionospheric data for space weather monitoring and national security missions including Golden Dome missile defense system.
- ECMWFmajorEuropean Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts ingests PlanetiQ data into operational weather forecasting models. ECMWF studies show GNSS-RO has the highest Forecast Sensitivity to Observation Impact of any meteorological input.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
PlanetIQ competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Spire Global: Publicly traded commercial satellite operator providing GNSS-RO profiles, weather data, ship tracking, and aviation analytics. Spire is PlanetiQ's most direct competitor in commercial radio occultation and the benchmark against which NASA, NOAA, and ECMWF evaluate commercial RO quality and volume.
- GeoOptics: Private commercial provider of GNSS-RO atmospheric data for weather and climate applications. Competes head-to-head with PlanetiQ for NOAA Commercial Data Program awards and shares the same scientific and government customer base.
- Tomorrow.io: Commercial weather intelligence platform that has invested in its own satellite constellation for microwave sounding data. Operates in the same enterprise weather data market as PlanetiQ (aviation, insurance, energy, agriculture) and competes for similar commercial and government customers.
Emerging players
- Arbol: Climate and weather risk analytics platform serving commodities trading, insurance, and energy clients. Comparable as a downstream consumer and reseller of commercial weather data with overlapping customer segments in insurance and energy.
- Descartes Labs: Geospatial analytics company applying AI to satellite and atmospheric data for agriculture, energy, and sustainability customers. Overlaps with PlanetiQ on data-driven commercial weather and Earth-observation analytics use cases.
Broad incumbents
- Maxar Technologies: Large, established satellite imagery and space infrastructure company serving U.S. government and commercial customers. While focused on Earth observation imagery rather than GNSS-RO, Maxar competes for the same defense, intelligence, and government atmospheric/weather data budgets.
- ICEYE: Operator of a commercial SAR satellite constellation serving government and commercial customers with all-weather imagery. Comparable as a private satellite EO operator pursuing government anchor contracts and commercial data revenue.
- Capella Space: U.S.-based commercial SAR satellite operator serving defense, intelligence, and commercial customers. Comparable private satellite data company pursuing similar government anchor contracts and recurring commercial data revenue.
- Planet Labs: Public, large-scale Earth observation company operating the largest commercial imaging satellite fleet. Competes for the same government and commercial geospatial data budgets, though focused on optical imagery rather than GNSS-RO.
- BlackSky: Public satellite imaging and geospatial analytics company serving defense, intelligence, and commercial customers with high-revisit Earth observation. Comparable as a private-to-public commercial satellite data operator in adjacent government weather and intelligence programs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
PlanetIQ social profiles
Digital presencePlanetIQ compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
PlanetIQ financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PlanetIQ leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
PlanetIQ funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PlanetIQ M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PlanetIQ
What does PlanetIQ do?
PlanetiQ operates a commercial satellite constellation equipped with its proprietary Pyxis fourth-generation GNSS-RO receiver to deliver atmospheric and ionospheric data products globally. The company sells GNSS-RO atmospheric profiles (temperature, pressure, water vapor), polarimetric radio occultation data for precipitation detection, GNSS reflectometry data for surface measurements, and Total Electron Content data for space weather to government agencies and commercial customers under multi-year contracts.
Is PlanetIQ a public or private company?
PlanetIQ is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was PlanetIQ founded?
PlanetIQ was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is PlanetIQ based?
PlanetIQ is headquartered in Golden, United States, in the North America region.
How does PlanetIQ make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Government Data Contracts are the primary driver. The others are commercial Data Sales and signal Intelligence Data.
Who are PlanetIQ's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Spire Global, GeoOptics and Tomorrow.io. Emerging players are Arbol and Descartes Labs. Broad incumbents are Maxar Technologies, ICEYE, Capella Space, Planet Labs and BlackSky.
Does PlanetIQ have an API?
No public API is recorded for PlanetIQ.
What industry is PlanetIQ in?
PlanetIQ's product category is Earth Observation Data Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMANAM, Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAIAHAF, Space Defense & Missile Warning. Its NAICS code is 51741 and its SIC code is 3760.