Spire Global

Spire Global

Spire Global was founded in 2012 by Peter Platzer, a former NASA physicist, and Joel Spark, a space system engineer. The company started with the idea that tiny, low-cost CubeSats could replace traditional multi-billion-dollar satellite programs. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, Scotland, with additional offices in San Francisco, Luxembourg, and Singapore. The firm went public via a SPAC merger in 2021 (per SEC filings, 2021). The company designs, builds, and operates its own constellation of roughly 100 satellites (public record). Spire collects radio-occultation data for weather forecasting, AIS signals for maritime tracking, and ADS-B signals for aviation surveillance. Its customers include the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and major shipping lines. Spire has also entered government contracts for defense and intelligence applications (per SpaceNews, 2023). Spire reported revenue of $48.7M in 2022 (per its 2022 annual report). The firm has raised over $200M in venture funding from investors including DN Capital, Promus Ventures, and RRE Ventures (public record). Its 2021 SPAC merger valued the company at $1.6B (per SEC filing, 2021). The firm employs roughly 500 people across its global offices. Unlike many space startups that manufacture hardware for others, Spire integrates satellite platform, sensor, and data analytics into a single operating business. This vertical stack lets Spire price data slices per observation, a model akin to a software-as-a-service company rather than a defense contractor.