Myriota, US space group Spire to partner on global satellite services
Fast-growing Australian technology company Myriota is extending its global coverage and market reach through a partnership with New York Stock Exchange-listed Spire.
Australian space tech business Myriota will expand its services using a global network of satellites in partnership with US listed space group Spire Global.
Spire, which started trading on the New York Stock Exchange in August, operates more than 110 Lemur satellites in low Earth orbit, which will be accessed by Myriota for its own suite of technology and services.
The partnership will see Myriota’s network of nine satellites expand to 44 by the end of next year as it starts using Spire’s space-as-a-service capability.
Adelaide-based Myriota said the partnership will “supercharge its constellation development, rapidly creating a more resilient network for customers and improving downlink capability.”
Myriota is among the fastest-growing technology companies in Australia and raised $28m in a Series B funding round in April 2020.
It is backed by Hostplus, Main Sequence Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Malcolm Turnbull, Right Click Capital, Singtel Innov8, Boeing HorizonX and the South Australian Venture Capital Fund.
Spire also has an indirect minority stake in Myriota following its $US161.2m purchase of
Canada’s exactEarth earlier this month.
Myriota co-founder and chief technology officer Dr David Haley said the group’s unique communications capabilities enabled best battery life, security and scalability of systems and would benefit from Spire’s coverage and services.
“Then taking that capability (of Spire) to manufacture satellites very quickly and operate them in a scalable way, you are bringing these two forces together to create a game-changing capability for Myriota’s customers,” Mr Haley said.
“Myriota will use Spire’s existing satellite platform and continue to scale the Myriota Network as Spire deploys new satellites.”
Myriota’s current customers across the logistics, insurance, utilities and agriculture sectors are able to securely monitor and collect data globally using its long-lasting and low-cost internet-of- things (IoT) sensors.
The data helps track, locate and monitor assets including vehicles, wind turbines, equipment and tools, and shipping containers.
Spire provides data-gathering and analysis services to maritime, aviation, space and government services globally.
“By leveraging Spire’s constellation, Myriota will rapidly improve its services, and enter new markets such as North American and Europe,” Mr Haley said.
“Spire is a perfect partner for extending our global reach.”
Spire said its satellites and technology are ready to seamlessly help Myriota “make smart devices more accessible to everyone”.
“Australia is a hotbed of innovative companies, and it’s gratifying to help a leading satellite connectivity provider go to market quickly and scale up efficiently,” said Theresa Condor, executive vice president, general manager of space services and earth intelligence at Spire.
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