Planet Labs PBC is a vertically integrated Earth-imaging and geospatial data company that operates a large commercial fleet of Earth observation satellites. Founded by former NASA scientists, the company designs, manufactures, and operates hundreds of miniature satellites, including its Dove, SkySat, Pelican, and Tanager constellations. Rather than selling the satellites themselves, Planet Labs monetizes its hardware by capturing daily images of the Earth's landmass and selling subscriptions to this proprietary data.
The company's business model is highly recurring, with subscription-based data and analytics accounting for the vast majority of its revenue (approximately 98% of its annual contract value is recurring). Customers access Planet's data through its cloud-native Planet Insights Platform, which offers raw imagery, basemaps, tasking utilities, and machine learning-driven analytics. This data is utilized by over 900 customers across more than 65 countries, serving diverse end markets such as agriculture, defense and intelligence, energy, forestry, and financial services.
Geographically, Planet Labs generates revenue globally, with significant contributions from North America, EMEA, and the Asia-Pacific regions. The company's competitive position is supported by its high-cadence, daily global scanning capability, which provides a deep historical archive and near real-time visibility into environmental and geopolitical changes. By combining in-house satellite manufacturing with advanced software and analytics, Planet Labs functions as a comprehensive Earth intelligence and B2B data provider.
