SAN FRANCISCO – Los Angeles startup Matter Intelligence has emerged from stealth with $12 million to develop a unique Earth-observation sensor suite. The suite, which combines a high-resolution camera with a thermal sensor and a spectrometer, is designed for satellites, drones and aircraft.
“We’re putting all three things together because everyone wants to do data fusion,” Vishnu Sridhar, Matter co-founder and CEO, told SpaceNews. “We’re doing data fusion at the sensor level.”
By combining the data, Matter intends to feed AI models to create maps “that can discern between all the materials on the surface and in the atmosphere,” Sridhar said. Matter maps will show, for example, whether a roof is made of aluminum or tile, identify invasive vegetation and reveal “emissions coming out of every single pipeline,” Sridhar said.
With data acquired by the sensor suite, Matter also plans to offer digital elevation models.
Lowercarbon Capital led Matter’s seed round. Toyota Ventures, Pear VC, Mark Cuban and E2MC participated.
Building a Brand
With funding from the seed round, Matter seeks to build and demonstrate its sensor suite, expand the company and brand, and extend customer engagement. “We’re already working with several commercial customers to engage in more advanced use cases,” Sridhar said.
Matter is not yet revealing the resolution of its sensors, except to say they will offer sub-meter precision. Nor is the startup ready to say when it plans to launch its first satellite, Earth-1.
Sridhar, former instrument engineer for the Mars Perseverance Rover’s SuperCam, co-founded Matter Intelligence in early 2023 with former Millennium Space engineer Thomas Chrien and former Caltech scientist Nathan Stein.
“Matter is building the most sophisticated hyperspectral sensors to ever study our planet, allowing us to uncover critical resources we can’t see and measure climate-driven costs in real time,” Shawn Xu, Lowercarbon Capital partner, said in a statement.
