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Planet Labs
Planet Labs, co-founded by Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler, operates the world's largest daily Earth-imaging satellite fleet with over 200 satellites.
Planet Labs
Planet Labs was founded in 2010 by former NASA engineers Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler. The company went public via a SPAC merger in December 2021 and trades on the NYSE under the ticker PL. Wealth origin is corporate equity, not inherited capital, and the firm operates as a public corporation. Planet sells subscription access to data from its satellite constellations — SuperDove, Pelican, SkySat, and Tanager — covering optical and hyperspectral imagery at resolutions from 50 cm to 3 meters. Customers span agriculture, energy, maritime, insurance, defense, and civil government. The firm has stated its platform processes near-daily global coverage for applications such as methane detection and crop yield monitoring. Key deployments include support for US civil government agencies and international agricultural monitoring programs. Planet has built and deployed over 450 satellites, currently operating roughly 200-plus in orbit. The company maintains offices in San Francisco, Berlin, Washington D.C., Haarlem, Ljubljana, and Graz. In March 2026, Planet imagery was cited by news outlets publishing satellite images of burning Iranian naval ships (per Planet press, March 2026). Planet's structural differentiator is its vertically integrated satellite manufacturing and operations model — it designs, builds, launches, and operates its own fleet. This control over the full stack allows Planet to refresh its constellations rapidly and sell data as a recurring subscription service rather than a project-based consulting model.
General information
Firm type
Public Company
Year founded
2010
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
645 Harrison Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94107, United States
Additional offices
Berlin, Germany · Washington D.C., United States · Haarlem, Netherlands · Ljubljana, Slovenia · Graz, Austria
Principals
Will Marshall
Co-founder and CEO
Robbie Schingler
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Planet Labs?
Planet Labs is a public company governed by its board of directors. CEO Will Marshall and CFO Ashley Fieglein Johnson lead executive strategy. The board includes co-founder Robbie Schingler, lead independent director Carl Bass, and former Chief of Space Operations General John W. 'Jay' Raymond (per firm website, 2026).
How does Planet Labs source proprietary deal flow?
Planet is not a capital allocator; it operates an Earth-observation data subscription business. It generates revenue through direct sales to government and commercial clients and through its partner ecosystem, Planet Orbit.
Is Planet Labs structured as a family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
Planet Labs is a publicly traded corporation (NYSE: PL). It is not a family office or venture firm. The founding team's wealth originates from equity in the company, not inherited capital.
Does Planet Labs participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Planet Labs does not make fund commitments. It sells satellite data subscriptions and related analytics services. It has no investment arm that allocates capital to external funds.
What investment stages does Planet Labs typically target?
Not applicable. Planet Labs is an operating company, not an investment firm. It focuses on product development, satellite constellation launches, and commercial/government sales contracts.
Which sectors does Planet Labs explicitly avoid?
Planet Labs serves a broad range of sectors. On its website, it explicitly markets to agriculture, maritime, energy, finance, insurance, civil government, defense, mapping, and sustainability. It does not publicly list excluded sectors.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
Planet Labs is a public company; wealth belongs to its public shareholders and employee equity holders. Co-founders Marshall and Schingler derive wealth from their equity stakes in Planet Labs. No inherited family wealth is associated with the firm.
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