SkyTec

What SkyTec does

Skytec, LLC is an environmental intelligence firm headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, founded in 2015 by Bill Rogers (CEO) and Andy Carroll (CTO). The company originally operated a drone-based aerial monitoring business — it was among the first 2,000 firms granted FAA commercial drone permission — before pivoting in 2019 to satellite-based monitoring and divesting its drone operations in 2024 to focus exclusively on low-orbit satellite imagery and AI-powered change detection. Skytec is an Esri Gold Partner and has built its products natively on the Esri ArcGIS platform.

The company's core product is the Ranger® platform, a subscription-based AI monitoring solution that fuses near-daily imagery from Planet Labs and BlackSky with LiDAR data and authoritative biodiversity datasets (including NatureServe) to detect landscape changes within 24–72 hours, including unauthorized harvesting, encroachments, and conservation easement violations. Specialized sub-products include ForSite®, developed with International Paper to monitor sustainable fiber sourcing across global supply chains including EUDR-driven due-diligence use cases, and a Wetland Screening Tool built for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation that mapped more than 800,000 additional wetland acres beyond the National Wetland Inventory at three-meter resolution in eight weeks. A GIS Consulting practice provides custom engagements including carbon-credit methodology work, vegetation and invasive-species mapping, and large-format 3D visualization.

Skytec operates a hybrid revenue model combining Ranger subscription fees (priced by acreage, monitoring frequency, and project scope) with project-based consulting engagements ranging from under $10,000 to over $50,000. The customer base spans three segments: government agencies (regulatory and land management), corporations (supply-chain verification and ESG compliance), and nonprofit conservation organizations. Named customers include International Paper, TDEC, Tennessee Valley Authority, Southern Company, NRDC, Geosyntec Consultants, and multiple land trusts such as the Tennessee River Gorge Trust and Appalachian Conservation Institute. Distribution occurs through direct sales, the Esri partner/reseller channel, and a discounted nonprofit program co-enabled with Esri and Planet Labs. Skytec is a privately held LLC with no disclosed outside funding.

Name

SkyTec

Legal name

Skytec, LLC

Website

https://skytecllc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Skytec is a Chattanooga-based environmental intelligence firm that provides AI-powered satellite monitoring and change detection through its Ranger platform. It serves government agencies, corporations, and conservation nonprofits with subscription-based geospatial analytics and custom GIS consulting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Intelligence Software

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

akta.pro primary industry

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD), Remote Sensing & Geospatial Vision (satellite/drone imagery) (HDAAAEAL), Geospatial Data Management & Enterprise GIS (Geodatabases, Web GIS, Spatial Analytics) (EUAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Environmental intelligence
• Satellite imagery monitoring
• GIS consulting services
• Remote sensing analytics
• Geospatial AI platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Ranger Platform Subscription: Subscription-based monitoring service priced based on acreage monitored, desired monitoring frequency, and project scope. Organizations of all sizes supported from small land conservancies to state agencies monitoring millions of acres. ArcGIS subscription required.
2. GIS Professional Services: Custom GIS consulting engagements including environmental intelligence expertise, wetland prediction tools, deep learning models, and supply chain verification platforms. Pricing ranges from under $10,000 to over $50,000 per project.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SkyTec provides an AI-powered environmental intelligence platform that combines satellite imagery, geo-AI, deep learning, and GIS analysis built natively on Esri's ArcGIS ecosystem. The company delivers near real-time change detection and environmental monitoring for government, corporate, and nonprofit clients, alongside dedicated GIS consulting services.

Product overview

SkyTec offers a unified platform-plus-services model centered on the Ranger® platform, an AI-powered change detection solution built natively on Esri ArcGIS that provides near real-time environmental monitoring of any landscape globally. The portfolio includes specialized tools such as the ForSite® supply chain verification tool developed with International Paper, and the Wetland Screening Tool built for TDEC, all delivered through GIS consulting services. The Ranger platform serves as the core monitoring engine, while specialized sub-brands address specific use cases like sustainable sourcing and wetland mapping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ranger® platform: AI-powered, subscription-based change detection platform built natively on Esri's ArcGIS ecosystem for monitoring landscapes in near real time.
• ForSite®

Products and services

• Ranger Platform
• ForSite
• Wetland Screening Tool
• GIS Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 800,000 additional wetland acres mapped beyond National Wetland Inventory for Tennessee in 8 weeks
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EsricoreTechnology or IntegrationEsri Gold Partner. Ranger platform built natively on Esri ArcGIS ecosystem. Skytec authorized ArcGIS reseller. Solutions integrate directly with existing ArcGIS environments. Partnership enables bundled nonprofit pricing through Esri licensing.
• Planet LabscoreTechnology or IntegrationSatellite imagery provider partner. Planet's global network enables near-daily satellite imagery for Ranger change detection. Most changes flagged within 24-72 hours. Partnership enables discounted imagery pricing for nonprofits.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner for wetland prediction project. Tennessee wetlands project featured in Microsoft's 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report (Page 71). Provided computational resources for large-scale wetland modeling.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Woolpert: Large geospatial engineering and surveying firm with an environmental and land-management practice that pairs Esri-centric GIS services with aerial and satellite-derived analytics — directly comparable to Skytec's platform-plus-consulting model.
• AAM Group: Aerial mapping and geospatial analytics firm combining LiDAR, photogrammetry, and satellite-derived insights for environmental and infrastructure clients; mirrors Skytec's integration of remote-sensing modalities into decision-grade outputs.
• GISinc: Esri Platinum partner focused exclusively on GIS consulting, spatial data management, and remote-sensing services for government and utilities — directly comparable customer base and Esri-centric delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• Trimble: Global geospatial and positioning platform with forestry, agriculture, and environmental solutions; while much larger and broader, its remote-sensing and analytics suite overlaps with Skytec's environmental intelligence offerings.
• Maxar Intelligence: High-resolution satellite imagery provider with an expanding analytics business serving defense, government, and commercial environmental customers — a vertically integrated competitor that could absorb Skytec's monitoring value proposition.
• Esri: Dominant GIS platform vendor and Skytec's core technology partner. Esri's ArcGIS platform is the substrate Ranger runs on, and could expand into environmental monitoring applications, making it both the most important channel and the highest platform-substitution risk.

Emerging players

• Descartes Labs: Geospatial analytics company applying AI to satellite imagery for agriculture, energy, and sustainability customers — a directly comparable analytics layer built on the same imagery stack Skytec leverages.
• Orbital Insight: AI-driven geospatial analytics provider using satellite imagery to deliver monitoring insights across environmental, supply-chain, and infrastructure use cases — overlaps with Skytec's AI change-detection thesis.

Others

• BlackSky: Tasking and analytics satellite imagery provider and Skytec partner. While not a direct competitor today, BlackSky's Spectrum tasking platform enables end-user monitoring that could overlap with Ranger in time-sensitive change detection.
• Planet Labs: Operates the world's largest commercial fleet of Earth observation satellites and supplies the near-daily imagery that powers Skytec's Ranger platform. As Planet continues to expand its analytic products, it represents Skytec's most important upstream partner and a potential downstream competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/skytecllc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/skytec-llc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about SkyTec