Earth-observing satellite startup Planet is going public - Space.com

Planet is going public, too.

The San Francisco-based company, which operates the world's largest fleet of Earth-observing satellites, announced Wednesday (July 7) that it will merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV.

Planet's move is part of a SPAC wave sweeping across the space industry. Astra, Rocket Lab and Redwire have all announced SPAC mergers in recent months, for example, and Virgin Orbit is considering one as well.

The transaction values Planet at $2.8 billion and will take the company public. Planet will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker name "PL," company representatives said.

Planet generates 25 terabytes of data every day from about 200 satellites, most of them shoebox-sized cubesats known as Doves (or, more recently, SuperDoves). The company sells this information to a variety of customers, from government agencies to farmers.

Planet also releases especially important photos and data free of charge — imagery that can help first responders deal with natural disasters such as wildfires and earthquakes, for example. And Planet data help scientists and resource managers monitor climate change, deforestation and other problems plaguing the globe, company representatives say.

Big congrats to @planet & @Will4Planet & his team. To me this is a company that defines what ‘ESG’ business should be, truly doing well by doing good. The data they generate is absolutely transformative for biodiversity conservation, ocean & forest monitoring, climate analysis. https://t.co/RBuTNiP4yNJuly 7, 2021

"As the world shifts to a more sustainable economy and more companies and governments set their sustainability and ESG [environmental, social and governance] goals, the first step in achieving these objectives is measurement," Planet CEO and co-founder Will Marshall said in a statement.

"Planet's daily, global data is foundational to making that transition," he added, noting that the company images Earth's entire landmass every day. "We're excited to reach this important milestone of taking Planet public to significantly accelerate our mission, and to be doing so with dMY and other great investors."

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

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