Planet Partners with Taylor Geospatial Institute, Data Expected To Be Leveraged for Research on Food Security and Defense and Intelligence

Rhea-AI Summary

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) has secured a multi-year contract with the Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI) at Saint Louis University, marking its largest direct university engagement. This partnership will grant TGI access to Planet’s extensive satellite data to address global challenges in food security, national security, and geospatial science. The collaboration includes eight universities and over 100,000 students and faculty. This move aligns with recent investments in geospatial capabilities in the St. Louis area, fostering innovation and enabling future leaders in geospatial science.

Positive

• Multi-year contract with Taylor Geospatial Institute enhances market presence.
• Access to extensive satellite data supports research on global issues.
• Partnership includes collaboration with eight universities and over 100,000 students.

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• None.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about Earth, today announced that they have entered into a multi-year contract with Saint Louis University in support of the Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI), a leading geospatial research collaborative. Bringing together eight midwestern universities and research centers, TGI aims to harness innovation in geospatial science and make scientific discoveries that address global challenges. With access to Planet’s satellite data, TGI aims to enable researchers to explore critical issues surrounding global food security, core geospatial science and computation, geospatial health, and national security.

As Planet’s largest ever direct university engagement, this agreement offers the company their broadest potential university user community. Through this multi-user agreement, TGI member institutions will gain access to Planet data through the company’s Education and Research Program. The members of the TGI consortium are Saint Louis University, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Harris-Stowe State University, Missouri University of Science & Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Washington University in St. Louis. Collectively, these institutions encompass more than 5,000 faculty and 100,000 students.

“This consortium enables the Taylor Geospatial Institute to tap into the incredibly talented and diverse user community in the St. Louis region as they seek solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges. We look forward to seeing the countless ways these students and researchers will leverage Planet’s satellite data to help us ensure security and well-being globally,” said Robert Cardillo, Planet Federal Chief Strategist.

“With Planet’s unique satellite capabilities and archive, the Taylor Geospatial Institute can further its goal of leading innovation and impact through cutting-edge geospatial technologies. We also see access to Planet’s data as vital for developing future leaders in geospatial science. By harnessing time-stamped satellite big data from across the planet, our students and researchers can go on to bring advanced data analytics, AI, and geospatial insights to grand societal challenges related to food, water, human insecurity, and caring for our planet,” said Vasit Sagan, Ph.D, Associate Professor at Saint Louis University and Acting Director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute.

TGI joins a recent spate of geospatial investments in the St. Louis region, including an expansive new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) west headquarters with an investment of more than $1.7 billion. That new facility is being purpose-built to include up to 40% of its operating space at the unclassified level. This will further enable students and researchers to collaborate more frequently with the NGA. It will also deepen Saint Louis University’s existing partnership with NGA, which includes collaborative research and development, geospatial training programs, and the annual Geo-Resolution Conference. With access to PlanetScope Archive, TGI researchers can gain daily satellite imagery at 3-meter resolution of locations of security interest, such as military build-ups along borders. These researchers will also be able to leverage Planet’s SkySat high-resolution tasking satellites, allowing them to capture rapidly-changing events with 50 cm resolution, such as the immediate impacts of missile attacks or detailed imagery of foreign bases. These capabilities can further help these analysts generate vital skills for the future of the defense and intelligence workforce.

Situated in the fertile heartland of America, these institutions are also advancing agricultural research to ensure food security in the current shifting political landscape. As the world is facing uncertainty around global supply chains and food security, having advanced and timely analytics around agricultural production and distribution is becoming ever-more important. With Planet’s datasets, TGI’s partner institutions can publish research on crop yields, gain timely insights on irrigation, and help the industry create climate-smart farming practices. With Planet’s high frequency datasets and archived satellite data, researchers can evaluate change on a daily basis and compare outputs from season to season. By incorporating these datasets into models, TGI analysts could predict crop shortages early on, enabling the agricultural sector to respond appropriately to ensure food security.

This partnership marks a step forward for the geospatial community. By providing broad access to Planet’s cutting-edge satellite data capabilities, TGI is building a global center for geospatial research excellence and ensuring their collaborative network of students and researchers have the toolkits they need for the future.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet is a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven by a mission to image the world every day, and make change visible, accessible and actionable. Founded in 2010 by three NASA scientists, Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites, capturing over 30 TB of data per day. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to over 800 customers, comprising the world’s leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to simply and effectively derive unique value from satellite imagery. Planet is a public benefit corporation trading on the New York Stock Exchange as PL. To learn more visit www.planet.com and follow us on Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, the Company’s ability to capture market opportunity and realize any of the potential benefits from current or future product enhancements, new products, or strategic partnerships and customer collaborations. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s management’s beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to them. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future events and results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. Factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to the risk factors and other disclosures about the Company and its business included in the Company's periodic reports, proxy statements, and other disclosure materials filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which are available online at www.sec.gov, and on the Company's website at www.planet.com. All forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date such statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220914005350/en/

Planet Press

Claire Bentley

comms@planet.com

Planet Investor Relations

Chris Genualdi, Cleo Palmer-Poroner

ir@planet.com

Source: Planet

FAQ

What is the significance of Planet Labs' contract with Saint Louis University?

The contract with Saint Louis University is significant as it marks Planet Labs' largest direct engagement with a university, providing broad access to its satellite data for research across multiple disciplines.

How many institutions are part of the Taylor Geospatial Institute partnership with Planet Labs?

The Taylor Geospatial Institute partnership includes eight institutions, enhancing collaborative research capabilities and access to Planet's satellite data.

What are the key areas of research supported by Planet Labs' satellite data?

Planet Labs' satellite data supports research in critical areas such as food security, geospatial science, and national security.

What does Planet Labs aim to achieve through this partnership?

Through this partnership, Planet Labs aims to leverage its satellite capabilities to help address significant global challenges and foster innovation in geospatial technologies.

How does this partnership impact the education sector?

This partnership will improve educational resources and research capabilities for over 100,000 students and faculty across the involved institutions.