LOGAN, Utah – Space weather startup Perceptive Space raised $2.8 million in a pre-seed investment round announced Aug. 6.
Toronto-based Perceptive Space promises “space weather predictions that are more accurate and have better lead times than what NOAA and other government agencies provide today,” Padmashri Suresh, Perceptive founder and CEO, told SpaceNews. “We are using AI to extract more signal from the same data.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitors solar activity and provides space weather forecasts and warnings. Perceptive Space models ingest data from NOAA, NASA and private partners. “We are leveraging decades worth of space weather data and operations data to predict space weather and its impact,” Suresh said.
Since Perceptive Space was established in stealth mode in 2022, the company has developed “lightweight” AI models to run onboard satellite edge processors. “You will be able to seamlessly integrate our models and predictions into the systems,” Suresh said.
Targeted Forecasts
Perceptive Space also is known for tailoring forecasts for clients. The impact of a geomagnetic storm on a satellite operating at an altitude of 200 kilometers, for example, will be different from its impact on a satellite at 400 kilometers.
Perceptive’s “data products tell you how space weather will impact the health of your particular mission and different subsystems,” Suresh said. “We give that kind of tailored information and decision intelligence about space weather impact.”
Investment Round
Investors participating in Perceptive Space’s funding round include Panache Ventures, Metaplanet, 7Percent Ventures, Mythos Ventures and AIN Ventures.
With the money, Perceptive Space plans to introduce its space weather platform to space and defense organizations in the United States and allied countries. Perceptive Space has “secured early commitments from several satellite operators and launch providers, including a pilot,” according to the news release. Suresh declined to name the early customers. Perceptive Space’s first product is scheduled for release in 2025.
In addition, Perceptive Space will hire “more engineers and scientists to help us get out products and attract early adopters,” Suresh said.
The Backstory
Prior to founding Perceptive, Suresh worked in data science, spacecraft engineering and technology policy.
“All of these experiences helped me build an understanding of all the different ways space weather impacts our sensors or operations or launch, which led me to explore the idea of using machine learning to better predict space weather for my PhD,” Suresh said. Suresh earned her PhD at Utah State University, home of this week’s SmallSat Conference, in 2016.
Ultimately, Suresh founded Perceptive Space “because I believe humanity is going to be a multiplanetary civilization. To ensure that our systems and all of us don’t become burnt toast getting there, we need better space weather information with better lead times.”
To date, space-related startups have tended to focus on terrestrial rather than space weather. Suresh was already establishing Perceptive Space when SpaceX lost 49 satellites in a 2022 geomagnetic storm.
“That was the catalyst I was looking for because everybody in industry realized that, yes, we need better space weather forecasts,” Suresh said. “People are seeing the impact on their bottom lines from space weather.”
