Alberta based Wyvern, who provide commercial hyperspectral data, announced today that they had raised USD $6M (CAD $8.2M) which will help them penetrate deeper into the U.S. market.
The investment was led by Squadra Ventures. Other investors included Uncork Capital, Y Combinator, the University of Alberta Innovation Fund, Accelerate Fund III, and Brent Perrot.
The new funding follows $5M they received from the Government of Alberta through its Emissions Reduction Alberta in July to “pilot an approach to monitor wildfire impacts and detect methane leaks from space using high-resolution, hyperspectral satellites.”
Wyvern’s had previously announced a USD $7M Seed round in November 2022. That round also included Uncork Capital who led the Seed round investment which also included Y Combinator.
According to a Wyvern news release, “In addition to its U.S. market ambitions, this investment allows Wyvern to strengthen Alberta’s position as a hub for technology and innovation. The company’s continuing success contributes to the province’s recognition as a leader in the tech sector; Wyvern is reinforcing the “space” in Alberta’s growing reputation in the wider aerospace sector. Additionally, data from Wyvern’s satellites helps to fortify the world-renowned machine learning and artificial intelligence research in the province, wherein Wyvern imagery can be used within an ML/AI algorithm to solve key sustainability issues.”
Guy Filippelli, Managing Partner at Squadra Ventures said, “Wyvern is the future of Earth observation from space, and we’re excited to support their journey. Their cutting-edge technology is critical for defense, energy, and environmental use cases, and Chris and the full team bring the expertise and hustle needed to dominate the market. We’re thrilled to support them and excited to help bring Wyvern’s imagery offerings to the US and global markets.”
“Wyvern’s success is a great example of Alberta’s thriving technology industry,” said Nate Glubish, Alberta’s Minister of Technology and Innovation. “The Government of Alberta is proud to partner with Wyvern through our GovLab.AI program as we seek to combine world-class hyperspectral satellite imaging data with Alberta’s best AI researchers to create cutting-edge wildfire prediction and prevention models. This investment, including capital from the University of Alberta’s Innovation Fund, will help Wyvern push the boundaries of Alberta’s space technology sector, create high-quality jobs, and attract further investment to Alberta.”
Chris Robson, CEO of Wyvern added, “We are thrilled to have the support of Squadra Ventures as we embark on the next phase of our growth. This investment reinforces our commitment to providing the best quality, highest resolution commercial hyperspectral imagery from space. It positions us to scale in the U.S., one of the largest markets for remote sensing data, while continuing to drive innovation here in Alberta.”
The company currently has three Dragonette small satellites in low Earth orbit collecting 5.3-metre hyperspectral imaging data. Dragonette-001, which is delivering commercial data, has a spectral range of 500 nm to 800 nm and 23 spectral bands. Wyvern currently plans to add two more Dragonette satellites in 2025.