Planet
Satellite imagery and geospatial analytics platform for enterprises and governments.
Available information varies by company and source.
Profile record updated:
Company facts
- Official name
- Planet Labs PBC
- Entity type
- COMPANY
- Founded
- 2010
- Headquarters
- 645 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA, 94107
- Company size
- 1,001–5,000
- Market role
- Data Provider / Broker
- Ticker
- PL
- Official website
- planet.com
What Planet does
Planet operates a vertically integrated Earth data business: it captures satellite imagery, processes that data into standardised and analytics-ready products, and distributes access through cloud software, APIs, and self-service ordering tools. Value is created by turning proprietary orbital data collection into recurring enterprise workflows, while revenue is captured through software-like subscriptions, data licensing, and usage-based purchases for tasking and ad hoc imagery access.
Category differentiation
This is the public Earth observation company Planet Labs PBC, not a consumer app, media company, or advertising platform. It sells satellite imagery, tasking, and geospatial analytics rather than consumer-facing software.
Strategic context
AI-supported assessment from the existing company research; distinguish interpretation from sourced facts.
Planet is a US-based public Earth observation company that operates a satellite imagery and geospatial analytics platform for enterprises, governments, researchers, and specialist operational teams. Its core offer combines global satellite imagery, on-demand tasking, derived datasets, and cloud-based delivery tools through products such as Planet Insights Platform, Tasking, Monitoring, Mosaics, Analytic Feeds, and sector-focused data products. The business makes money through recurring subscriptions for continuous data access, usage-based tasking and imagery ordering, and premium pricing for specialised datasets such as hyperspectral, carbon, and environmental analytics products. Its customers are primarily B2B and public-sector buyers that need persistent monitoring, geospatial intelligence, or integration-ready Earth data in workflows spanning defence, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, sustainability, research, and mapping.
Company news briefing
Briefing updated:
Planet has advanced its strategic positioning through major defense and public sector contracts, including a landmark German federal agreement for a dedicated satellite constellation, alongside public sector partnerships in Rwanda and Scotland. The company reported its Q2 FY2027 financial results and expanded operational capabilities by launching the Amazon.ia AI tool, opening a new satellite manufacturing facility in Berlin, and partnering with Google on 'Project Suncatcher' to test Trillium AI chips in orbit.
Business model & monetisation
Planet uses a hybrid monetisation model centred on annual or recurring subscriptions for ongoing access to imagery, monitoring, and analytics products; usage-based and per-area pricing for tasking and ad hoc imagery orders; and premium pricing for specialised derived datasets such as hyperspectral, methane detection, carbon estimation, and analytic feeds. It also uses credit-based consumption models for some tasking workflows and self-service purchasing for lower-commitment buyers.
- Recurring imagery and analytics subscriptions
- Software Subscription
- On-demand tasking and imagery orders
- Pay-per-Use
- Specialised derived datasets such as hyperspectral and carbon products
- Software Subscription
- Self-service ad hoc purchases through portal access
- Pay-per-Use
Products & capabilities
No products with linked sources are available in this view.
Products & market categories
Competitors & alternatives
- Esri
Private GIS software company selling mapping and spatial analytics platforms.
Side-by-side comparisons
Recent recorded signals
Dates refer to the source publication. Older entries are historical context, not evidence of a new event.
Planet Launches Suncatcher, Tanager-2, and 18 SuperDove Satellites
Recorded impact score: 5/5
Planet announced the launch of Suncatcher, Tanager-2, and 18 SuperDove satellites, along with several other major announcements including a landmark German federal contract, a new AI tool for the Amazon, and a 7-figure defense agreement.
Google to send TPUs to space with Planet
Infrastructure · Recorded impact score: 3/5
Google has provided an update on Project Suncatcher, its initiative to put AI compute in space. In collaboration with satellite imaging company Planet, Google will send some of its Trillium TPUs to orbit on the SpaceX Transporter-18 rideshare mission. The company has conducted stress tests, confirming the chips can withstand radiation doses beyond a five-year mission requirement. Cooling in the vacuum of space remains a challenge. This move reflects the growing energy and space demands of AI training and inference, potentially shifting significant compute operations off-planet.
- Google will send Trillium TPUs to space on SpaceX Transporter-18 with partner Planet.
- The chips survived radiation doses greater than a five-year mission requirement.
Google Sends AI Chips to Space for Testing
Infrastructure · Recorded impact score: 4/5
Google's Project Suncatcher has launched its first AI chip into orbit, marking a step toward space-based data centers. The prototype satellite, built with Planet Labs and launched on SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission, carries four Trillium TPUs, the same chips used for Gemini models. Testing these chips against radiation, vibration, and extreme temperatures, the mission runs Google's Gemma model in 15-minute intervals due to heat dissipation challenges in a vacuum. The one-year mission aims to validate endurance; ground tests showed higher radiation resistance than expected, but silent data corruption remains a challenge. Economic viability requires launch costs below $200 per kilogram, needing about 1,800 Starship flights over ten years. Google published groundwork in Joule and plans two more satellites with laser links by early 2027, aligning with Elon Musk's vision of solar-powered orbital data centers.
- Google launched its first AI chip (TPU) into orbit via Project Suncatcher, with a satellite built by Planet Labs and launched on SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission.
- The satellite carries four Trillium TPUs, the same AI chips used for Gemini, and runs Gemma in 15-minute intervals due to thermal constraints.
Planet Announces Amazon.ia – A New Tool That Combines Satellite Data, Science and AI to Protect the Amazon
Recorded impact score: 4.5/5
Planet announced Amazon.ia, a new tool combining satellite data, science, and AI to protect the Amazon. Additionally, Planet opened a state-of-the-art satellite manufacturing facility in Berlin and was awarded a landmark German federal contract for exclusive access to a dedicated satellite constellation.
Planet Awarded Landmark German Federal Contract for Exclusive Access to Dedicated Satellite Constellation
Recorded impact score: 4.5/5
Planet announced a landmark German federal contract for exclusive access to a dedicated satellite constellation, reported Q2 FY2027 financial results, signed a 7-figure agreement with a European defense customer, shipped Tanager-2 and 18 SuperDoves, launched a national satellite data program with Rwanda, and was selected by the Scottish Government for AI-enabled agricultural monitoring.
Explore company relationships
Questions about Planet
What is Planet?
Planet is a public Earth observation company that provides satellite imagery, tasking, and geospatial analytics through cloud-based products and APIs.
Who uses Planet?
Planet is used by enterprises, governments, defence teams, GIS specialists, researchers, sustainability teams, and other organisations that need monitoring or geospatial intelligence.
How does Planet make money?
Planet makes money through recurring subscriptions for imagery and analytics, plus usage-based fees for tasking, imagery orders, and specialised data products.
Sources & coverage
This profile uses public, official and technically observable information. Missing information does not prove that a product or relationship does not exist. The list below does not imply that every profile statement has been verified.
19 publicly documented primary sources and citations linked across the market graph.
Continue your research on Planet
Explorer includes additional company details, a Watchlist for up to 25 companies and your personal Strategic Intelligence Agent. It monitors your market daily and delivers tailored briefings with clear strategic context whenever relevant news occurs.
Free, with no time limit.