Basalt

What do they actually do

Basalt is building a spacecraft operating system (Dispatch) and an autonomy stack that let multiple satellites coordinate, re-task themselves, and run missions with minimal human operators. Today, they sell “Constellations as a Service”: Basalt designs the mission, handles regulatory/licensing, builds or integrates satellites, manages launch and commissioning, and provides ground software to deliver data into a customer’s existing tools Basalt website YC profile TechCrunch.

They are working toward flight heritage via a demo constellation called Spirit‑EEL (software‑defined bus with on‑board AI/ML, redundant radios, and ~20 m GSD imaging) with a publicly stated target launch of June 2026. Basalt has also said it would attempt to recover/control a defunct on‑orbit satellite as an early autonomy demonstration. The team completed YC W24 and raised a reported $3.5M seed led by Initialized to fund demos and initial customers; early engagements include discussions with enterprise missions and collaborations with university flight programs Basalt tech demo TechCrunch YC profile.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Insurance claims and catastrophe response leaders: They need fast, reliable imagery to confirm damage and settle payouts but face long tasking delays, high per‑image costs, and manual scheduling that slows claims processing Basalt CAAS.
• Oil & gas and critical‑infrastructure operators: They require frequent, predictable monitoring for leaks or damage; today they rely on irregular commercial tasking or expensive dedicated support and must staff ops to manage satellites and data feeds Basalt CAAS.
• Logistics and supply‑chain managers: They want near‑real‑time visibility of ports, shipments, and congestion, but current imagery/analytics are delayed, hard to integrate, and lack reliable revisit on demand Basalt CAAS.
• Government and national‑security space/ISR buyers: They need trusted on‑orbit performance and low‑latency, coordinated sensing, but rely on proven flight heritage and slow, centralized human operations before adopting new autonomy tech TechCrunch.
• University labs and small‑sat programs: They want to test autonomy or run missions without building a full ops team; licensing/regulatory hurdles, limited flight hardware/time, and lack of turnkey ground software slow progress YC profile Basalt tech demo.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Offer free/discounted discovery workshops and short paid pilots with university programs and 1–2 risk‑tolerant enterprises (e.g., insurance or infrastructure), using Spirit‑EEL and legacy‑satellite demonstrations to generate on‑orbit case studies Basalt CAAS Basalt tech demo YC profile.
• First 50: Template the pilot‑to‑production path with vertical packages (claims, leak monitoring, port visibility), fixed SLAs, and managed ops, and use early flight case studies to shorten sales cycles Basalt CAAS TechCrunch.
• First 100: Layer on channel/SI partnerships (satellite builders, launch brokers, defense integrators) and government/university procurement programs, while selling a standardized Dispatch OS + managed constellation offering to make purchases turnkey YC profile Balerion webinar summary.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Commercial EO imaging is estimated around $3.7–$5.1B in 2024, and broader satellite data services roughly $12.8B in 2024 with strong projected growth; Basalt’s long‑term TAM spans these categories plus constellation services and onboard autonomy software GMI Grand View Research Allied via PR.

Bottom-up calculation:

Illustratively, if Basalt wins 10–20 tailored constellation contracts over time at ~$5–15M for year‑one build/launch and $1–3M/year for ops/software, that implies ~$50–300M one‑time revenue plus ~$10–60M in annual recurring operations. A parallel OS licensing path (e.g., low‑ to mid‑six‑figure per‑satellite fees across dozens of third‑party satellites) could add tens of millions in recurring software revenue as adoption grows.

Assumptions:

• Contract sizes reflect small to mid‑scale constellations (several smallsats, modest sensors) with managed ops.
• Sales cycles and regulatory milestones constrain initial annual volume; deployments ramp gradually.
• OS/autonomy licensing attaches to a subset of new/existing smallsats; pricing in the low‑ to mid‑six figures per spacecraft.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Loft Orbital: Turnkey “fly and operate” missions with payload integration, launch/licensing, and Cockpit mission‑control so customers avoid building an ops team—overlaps directly with Basalt’s Constellations‑as‑a‑Service pitch Loft Orbital.
• Planet Labs: High‑cadence imaging with self‑service tasking/APIs; many buyers can meet revisit needs by purchasing Planet data rather than funding a bespoke constellation Planet Tasking.
• BlackSky: Very low‑latency optical tasking and automated analytics aimed at rapid response and defense—competes where fast tasking, quick delivery, and proven operations matter most BlackSky Gen‑3.
• Kayhan Space: Software that automates satellite operations (conjunction alerts, maneuver planning) and unifies ops/SSA—overlaps with Basalt’s autonomy/OS angle to reduce manual flight ops Kayhan Satcat.
• D‑Orbit: Mission‑control services, payload hosting/last‑mile delivery, and in‑orbit compute/storage (Nebula) give customers alternatives to custom autonomous constellations D‑Orbit Nebula demo.