Polar Star Space
Polar Star Space is a Tokyo-based remote sensing company developing LCTF cameras, microsatellite sensors, and the smartphone-integrated Spectrum Catcher spectrometer. It sells disease detection and yield prediction services primarily to large-scale oil palm plantation operators in Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Polar Star Space does
Polar Star Space Co., Ltd. is a Tokyo-based remote sensing company founded in 2017 that operates a vertically integrated three-layer observation platform: microsatellites equipped with low-cost LCTF (Liquid Crystal Tunable Filter) hyperspectral cameras, drones carrying the same LCTF technology at sub-1/100th the cost of conventional systems, and the Spectrum Catcher, a smartphone-integrated spectrometer protected by Japanese Patent 6342594. The LCTF core technology is licensed from Hokkaido University, where the company originated as a certified venture.
The company's commercial focus is agricultural disease detection and yield prediction, with a deep specialization in early identification of Ganoderma disease in oil palm plantations. Its Tree ID Management, Health & Disease Monitoring, and Yield Productivity Prediction services are delivered to large-scale oil palm plantation operators in Malaysia and Indonesia at MYR 60 per hectare per flight via drone-based aerial spectral collection followed by AI analysis on AWS infrastructure. An MoU with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB, 2020), a strategic alliance with Kao Corporation (2022), and CONSEO membership (2024) anchor its position in the Southeast Asian palm oil value chain and Japanese space policy ecosystem.
The business model blends usage-based service revenue (per-hectare drone flights), subscription hardware revenue (2-year Spectrum Catcher rentals in Standard, Academic, and Professional tiers), and grant-funded market development revenue from METI, JETRO, and other Japanese government programs. The company has raised 501M JPY in total capital including reserves, with investors spanning Incubate Fund, Archetype Ventures, Okasan Capital, Global Link Ventures, North Pacific Bank, and Kao Corporation, and operates with 11-50 employees from its headquarters in Chuo-ku, Tokyo.
Polar Star Space firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Polar Star Space
- Legal name
- Polar Star Space Co., Ltd.
- Website
- https://polarstarspace.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Polar Star Space is a Tokyo-based remote sensing company developing LCTF cameras, microsatellite sensors, and the smartphone-integrated Spectrum Catcher spectrometer. It sells disease detection and yield prediction services primarily to large-scale oil palm plantation operators in Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Polar Star Space industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Remote Sensing / Precision Agriculture Services
- NAICS
- Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Field Mapping, GIS & Remote Sensing Analytics (AFAAAFAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM), Remote Sensing & Imagery Analytics (Satellite, Drone, Aerial) (AFABAMAB), Drone/UAV Data Capture & Processing Software (AFAAAFAH), Aerial Surveying & Crop Scouting (Imaging, Mapping, Stand Counts) (AFACAIAJ), Remote Sensing & Geospatial Vision (satellite/drone imagery) (HDAAAEAL)
Keywords
Where Polar Star Space is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
Polar Star Space business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Spectrum Catcher Rental: 2-year rental model for smartphone-integrated spectrometer with three tiers: Standard (data analysis only), Academic (CSV files + reflectance graphs for education/research), Professional (full CSV + graphs for joint research). Includes device, smartphone, service fee, and data allowance.
- Oil Palm Plantation Services: Per-flight service fees for drone-based plantation monitoring. Tree ID Management, Health & Disease Monitoring, and combined services priced at MYR 60/ha. Initial setup fee offered free for new customers (regularly MYR 60,000). Services include aerial data collection, AI analysis, and actionable reports.
- Government Subsidy Projects: Revenue from government-funded programs including Global South infrastructure overseas expansion surveys, ASEAN DX promotion projects, and manufacturing productivity improvement subsidies.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Tree ID Management - Drone-based tree counting service |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Health & Disease Monitoring - AI-powered disease detection |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Combined Tree ID + Health Monitoring |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Initial Setup Fee |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Standard - General users |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Academic - Education/research institutions |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Professional - Joint research |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Polar Star Space product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Polar Star Space provides a three-layer remote sensing service combining microsatellites, drone-mounted LCTF hyperspectral cameras, and the Spectrum Catcher smartphone-integrated spectrometer to deliver agricultural spectral data and AI-driven analysis. Primary commercial offerings are drone-based oil palm plantation monitoring services (Tree ID Management, Health & Disease Monitoring, Yield Productivity Prediction) sold per hectare per flight to large plantation operators in Southeast Asia, plus the Spectrum Catcher product rented to researchers and agricultural users.
Product overview
Polar Star Space offers a multi-layered remote sensing solution combining three core technologies: (1) Spectrum Catcher, the world's first smartphone-integrated spectrometer for ground-level spectral measurements; (2) Drone-mounted LCTF cameras for aerial hyperspectral imaging; and (3) Microsatellite-based spectral observation. The company provides specialized oil palm plantation management services including Tree ID Management, Health & Disease Monitoring, and Yield Productivity Prediction. All services leverage AI and machine learning for spectral data analysis, enabling early disease detection and optimized agricultural management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Spectrum Catcher: World's first smartphone-integrated portable spectrometer for spectral measurement used in agriculture for plant health monitoring, soil analysis, and disease detection
Products and services
- Spectrum Catcher World's first smartphone-integrated portable spectrometer. Automatically records incident/reflected light angles, GPS coordinates, and timestamps, and transmits measurements to cloud servers for analysis. Measures chlorophyll content, water turbidity, nutrients, and soil; calculates NDVI and other plant health indicators. Available in 2-year rental tiers (Standard, Academic, Professional) and is targeted at researchers, academic institutions, and agricultural users.
- Tree ID Management AI-powered tree counting service using drone imagery to measure the total number of planted trees across oil palm plantations, supporting production planning and resource allocation. Priced at MYR 60 per hectare per flight. Sold to large-scale oil palm plantation operators in Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Health & Disease Monitoring Advanced AI analysis combined with proprietary LCTF camera sensor technology to assess the health of individual oil palm trees, specializing in early detection of Ganoderma disease and other threats. Delivered as drone-based aerial data collection, AI analysis, and actionable reports. Priced at MYR 60 per hectare per flight.
- Yield Productivity Prediction Data analysis service providing harvest yield forecasts and revenue projections for oil palm plantations, integrating multiple variables (tree health data, spectral measurements, and plantation conditions) into customized forecasts using proprietary models.
- Spectral Library Service Building comprehensive agricultural and environmental spectral libraries by combining data from microsatellites, drones, and smartphone spectrometers, enabling accurate library-matching analysis for agriculture, forestry, and resource management applications.
Quantifiable outcome
- Successfully identified disease-affected trees in oil palm plantation covering area approximately 1/5 the size of Tokyo
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Polar Star Space
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Polar Star Space technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature6 records
Polar Star Space partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Consortium for Satellite Earth Observation (CONSEO)minorIndustry consortium for satellite earth observation policy and collaboration. Aims to contribute to Basic Plan on Space Policy, address climate change, and promote Japanese space industry growth through industry-academia-government collaboration.
- Kao CorporationcoreBusiness and capital alliance formed to combat Ganoderma disease affecting oil palm farms. Kao invested in Polar Star Space as part of this partnership. Collaboration focuses on developing solutions for plantation disease management.
- Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)coreMemorandum of Understanding signed for early disease detection in oil palm. Joint research on tree condition assessment and production forecasting using spectral technology. MPOB is the Malaysian government agency for palm oil research.
- Hokkaido UniversitycoreTechnology licensing partner for LCTF camera technology. Polar Star Space originated as Hokkaido University certified venture company. Ongoing research collaboration in remote sensing technology.
- Malaysian Government AgenciescoreCollaborative research with Malaysian government agencies, university research institutions, and major plantation operators. Focus on tree condition assessment and production forecasting for oil palm sector.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Polar Star Space competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Gamaya: Swiss company specializing in hyperspectral imaging and AI analytics for precision agriculture, including crop health, disease detection, and yield prediction. Directly comparable to Polar Star Space's drone-based spectral analytics stack for commercial farms.
- Aerodyne Group: Malaysia-headquartered drone-based enterprise solutions provider with deep presence in oil palm plantation monitoring and asset inspection across Southeast Asia. Competes head-to-head in PSS's core Malaysian/Indonesian oil palm service market.
- Taranis: Israel/US-based precision agriculture company using aerial imagery (drone and satellite) combined with AI to deliver sub-millimeter crop scouting, disease detection, and yield insights to large agribusinesses — directly comparable AI-driven imagery analytics.
- Satellogic: Argentina-based Earth observation company operating a constellation of microsatellites for sub-meter multispectral imagery. Comparable satellite-platform approach and target use cases in agriculture and environmental monitoring.
Emerging players
- Pixxel: Indian company building a commercial hyperspectral microsatellite constellation for agriculture, mining, and environmental monitoring. Closest pure-satellite hyperspectral peer to Polar Star Space's microsatellite LCTF program.
- CropX: Israel/US precision agriculture company combining in-ground sensors, satellite imagery, and AI for irrigation, disease, and yield management. Comparable AI-driven precision agriculture data platform addressing overlapping ag use cases.
Regional players
- Garuda Robotics: Singapore-based drone solutions provider serving Southeast Asian agriculture, infrastructure, and security markets. Directly comparable as a regional drone-services competitor targeting plantation and agribusiness customers.
- Axelspace: Tokyo-headquartered microsatellite operator providing Earth observation services including a hyperspectral satellite (GRUS). Closest Japanese microsatellite peer with overlapping remote sensing for agriculture applications.
- Synspective: Tokyo-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation operator for infrastructure and environmental monitoring. Comparable Japanese small-satellite company targeting government and enterprise Earth-observation customers.
Broad incumbents
- Planet Labs: Public, US-headquartered operator of the largest commercial Earth observation satellite constellation, providing daily imagery for agriculture, forestry, and government. Sets the competitive baseline for any satellite-based ag monitoring service.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Polar Star Space social profiles
Digital presencePolar Star Space financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Polar Star Space leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Polar Star Space funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Polar Star Space 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 Polar Star Space
What does Polar Star Space do?
Polar Star Space provides a three-layer remote sensing service combining microsatellites, drone-mounted LCTF hyperspectral cameras, and the Spectrum Catcher smartphone-integrated spectrometer to deliver agricultural spectral data and AI-driven analysis. Primary commercial offerings are drone-based oil palm plantation monitoring services (Tree ID Management, Health & Disease Monitoring, Yield Productivity Prediction) sold per hectare per flight to large plantation operators in Southeast Asia, plus the Spectrum Catcher product rented to researchers and agricultural users.
Is Polar Star Space a public or private company?
Polar Star Space is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Polar Star Space founded?
Polar Star Space was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Polar Star Space based?
Polar Star Space is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Polar Star Space make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Spectrum Catcher Rental is the primary driver. The others are oil Palm Plantation Services and government Subsidy Projects.
Who are Polar Star Space's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Gamaya, Aerodyne Group, Taranis and Satellogic. Emerging players are Pixxel and CropX. Regional players are Garuda Robotics, Axelspace and Synspective. Planet Labs is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Polar Star Space have an API?
No public API is recorded for Polar Star Space.
What industry is Polar Star Space in?
Polar Star Space's product category is Agricultural Remote Sensing / Precision Agriculture Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAAAFAB, Field Mapping, GIS & Remote Sensing Analytics, with a secondary code of BPAMANAM, Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms. Its NAICS code is 541370 and its SIC code is 700.