Privateer

Privateer is a space situational awareness and data infrastructure company based in Hawaii and was founded by Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak alongside Alex Fielding and Moriba Jah. 

Privateer's key offering is Wayfinder, a visualization tool that combines data from various sources to track and visualize space debris and satellite operations. Wayfinder offers detailed data on orbital objects, collision avoidance, and conjunction analysis to ensure the safety of space operations. Users can access interactive maps and dashboards for comprehensive insights into the space environment, supporting better decision-making for satellite operators and stakeholders.

In May 2024, Privateer acquired Orbital Insight, a firm specializing in geospatial data analysis, to enhance its capabilities by integrating Orbital Insight's TerraScope platform with Wayfinder.

Orbital Insight's TerraScope is an advanced geoanalytics platform that rapidly integrates and processes data from various sources, including proprietary and publicly available datasets. It is designed to provide insights for decision-makers across sectors such as geospatial intelligence, supply chain monitoring, real estate due diligence, GIS mapping, and governance. 

Incorporating Orbital Insight’s TerraScope platform with Privateer’s satellite-tracking software would enhance Privateer’s space data capabilities, and Privateer would be able to offer a comprehensive platform for satellite data analysis​ that will amalgamate data and intelligence from sea to space.

Privateer is also developing its ride-sharing orbital module, Pono, which is a module offering edge computing, storage, machine learning, and data transmission capabilities, available to satellite operators to monitor and manage in-orbit satellites.. Pono was built with off-the-shelf components capable of hosting various payloads that integrate with partner satellites, designed to promote asset sharing among space users and mitigate the increasing amount of satellites and orbital debris around Earth. The company claims it can deliver 10x the compute at 1/10th the cost. Pono’s other capabilities include evaluating orbital collision risks. Pono’s prototype was launched into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and was a hosted payload onboard D-Orbit’s ION space tug in December 2023. The waitlist for Pono was to open in mid-2024, and the service would become operational and available to customers in early 2025.

Key customers and partnerships

Notable customers of Orbital Insight, now a part of Privateer, include the US Air Force, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Defense Innovation Unit, Dow Jones, Mitsubishi, RBC Capital Markets, and S&P Global.

Notable partnerships include its tie-up with SpaceX to launch its ride-sharing orbital module Pono into orbit (Dec 2023). Furthermore, Orbital Insight collaborated with Rendered.ai and the University of California, Berkeley to develop a computer vision model for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (December 2021). Furthermore, in September 2018, Airbus Defence and Space partnered with Orbital Insight to create geospatial analytics services, granting Orbital Insight access to Pleiades and SPOT satellite imagery, and making it the first analytics partner for Airbus's OneAtlas Digital Platform, which offers users updated satellite imagery, large-scale image processing, and industry-specific insights.