Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California, specializing in Earth observation and geospatial data analytics. Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists and engineers, the company has grown into one of the world’s largest operators of Earth-imaging satellites. Planet designs, builds, and operates a constellation of small satellites—known as “Doves,” “SuperDoves,” “Skysats,” and “Pelican” high-resolution satellites—to capture daily imagery of the entire planet. This persistent, high-frequency monitoring enables customers to track changes in agriculture, energy, forestry, infrastructure, and environmental protection.
Planet’s core product offerings include PlanetScope, a daily-revisit imagery service delivering medium-resolution imagery at 3–5 meters; SkySat, a sub-meter resolution service capable of capturing video and stereoscopic images; and analytics solutions that transform raw data into actionable insights. Through its analytic platform, Planet’s customers can run geospatial workflows, automate detection of land use changes, and integrate data into existing GIS and machine learning systems. The company also provides accessible APIs for data ingestion and analysis, supporting a broad ecosystem of partners and independent software developers.
Serving a global customer base that spans government agencies, non-profits, and commercial enterprises across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia, Planet’s network of satellites captures over two million square kilometers of imagery every day. Key government clients include space agencies, defense departments, and disaster response organizations that use Planet data to support climate monitoring, humanitarian aid, and national security applications. In the private sector, agricultural firms leverage time-series imagery to optimize crop management, while energy and mining companies use change detection to monitor infrastructure and environmental compliance.
Under the leadership of CEO William Marshall and co-founders Adam Lewinson and Robbie Schingler, Planet has expanded its research and development efforts in machine learning and artificial intelligence to enhance analytical capabilities and automate feature extraction. The company maintains engineering and research centers in the United States and Europe, with satellite operations managed from Colorado and mission control centers in California and Germany. As a public benefit corporation, Planet balances commercial growth with its commitment to open data initiatives and sustainable space operations, aiming to democratize access to Earth imagery while minimizing the environmental footprint of its satellite fleets.
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