SkyFi raises $12.7M to turn satellite images into real-world insights

Thousands of satellites are now orbiting Earth, many capturing high-resolution images in near-real time. For years, the challenge wasn’t whether the data existed — it was how difficult it was to find, access, and actually use it.

Austin-based startup SkyFi thinks it has solved that problem. The company has built a platform that aggregates imagery from more than 50 geospatial data providers and makes it searchable, purchasable, and increasingly valuable through built-in analytics. The result has attracted customers across the finance, defence, infrastructure, insurance, and government sectors.

What further drove SkyFi’s growth was a shift beyond simply delivering images. The platform now offers analytical tools through its web and mobile apps, along with the ability to “task” satellites—enabling customers to request pictures of specific locations at specific times.

“The real goal is giving customers answers,” CEO Luke Fischer said in a recent interview. “Imagery itself is becoming a commodity. What matters is how quickly you can turn it into something useful.”

That focus helped SkyFi close a $12.7 million Series A round. The funding was co-led by Buoyant Ventures and IronGate Capital Advisors. Other investors in the round include DNV Ventures, Beyond Earth Ventures, and TFX Capital.

Fischer said the company initially planned to raise closer to $8 million. But strong investor interest — particularly as defence and space investments surged in 2025 — prompted SkyFi to raise additional capital. The target moved to $10 million, then $12 million, before landing at $12.7 million once several strategic investors joined the round.

Earlier in its life, SkyFi had to persuade satellite operators to make their data available through the platform. That’s no longer an issue, Fischer said. Today, onboarding imagery providers is largely expected, as SkyFi has built what it calls the most prominent “virtual constellation” of commercial satellite assets, spanning multiple sensor types.

That scale has also given the company something just as valuable as the imagery itself: insight into what customers actually want to know.

“We have a clear view into what people are asking for,” Fischer said. “That feedback loop is incredibly powerful.”

Fischer traces that mindset to his time leading Uber Elevate. Just as Uber learned from analysing how people move through cities, SkyFi is learning from how customers explore the planet — which locations they monitor, how often, and for what purposes.

Some customers, like hedge funds, still prefer to run their own analysis on raw data. But Fischer said the majority are increasingly drawn to SkyFi’s built-in insights, especially customers who want answers without building their own geospatial teams.

The new funding will be used to expand those analytical capabilities and improve the platform’s accessibility. Fischer says that ease of use has become one of SkyFi’s defining traits.

“My teenage daughters task satellites for their high school — and now college — homework on their iPhones,” he said.

For SkyFi, that’s the goal: powerful satellite intelligence that feels approachable, not intimidating.