Solafune, a Japanese startup developing geospatial analysis technology that combines satellites with artificial intelligence, announced on March 10 that it has secured more than 5 billion yen (approximately $32 million) in a Series A funding round.
Founded in 2020, Solafune operates under the mission “Hack The Planet.” The company focuses primarily on meeting security-related demand.
Building a Planetary Intelligence OS
Private-sector companies have long taken the lead in space development, and monitoring regions of security concern from orbit is no longer the exclusive domain of government agencies.
BlackSky, a U.S. company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, for instance, captures up to 15 satellite images per day of a targeted location and subjects them to AI-powered analysis.
The use of AI in intelligence analysis demanded by security and international conflict has also become commonplace. Palantir’s AI software, for example, was widely reported at the time to have been used in the 2011 operation that killed Osama bin Laden. In his book Zero to One, co-founder Peter Thiel alluded to the company’s involvement while stopping short of specifics, writing “I can’t reveal the details of that operation.”
Judging by its website, Solafune, like Thiel, does not disclose the specifics of how it collects or analyzes information. What can be gleaned, however, is that the company houses something called a “Planetary Intelligence OS.” While the website language leaves the concept somewhat abstract, the press release accompanying this funding round explicitly states that Solafune “aims to build an intelligence infrastructure known as the Planetary Intelligence OS”—suggesting that the software or application of that name is actively being used to analyze satellite-derived data.
The company also indicates that its intelligence-gathering methods extend beyond GEOINT (geospatial intelligence) to include SIGINT (signals intelligence) and OSINT (open-source intelligence), suggesting it does not rely on satellite imagery alone.
Solafune already counts Japan’s Ministry of Defense and National Police Agency among its clients. Beyond Japan, the company has been actively approaching African nations, signing agreements with countries including Egypt, Ghana, and Senegal to use its capabilities for disaster response and mineral resource exploration.
CEO: “Embodying Hack The Planet”
The Series A round was backed by multiple venture capital firms and individual investors. The proceeds will be directed toward hiring, technology development, technology investment, and international expansion.
Solafune CEO Ren Uechi commented:
“Could every phenomenon in the world be expressed as an equation—and if so, how? That was a question I posed to myself as a student, and it has guided me ever since. Through that pursuit, Solafune has accumulated the technology to ‘understand the Earth, and humanity, more accurately.’ In an era where AI and space converge, we will build the intelligence infrastructure that supports the decision-making of nations and organizations, and as a company that realizes the Planetary Intelligence OS, we will embody our mission: Hack The Planet.”
