In the last five years, the smallsat market has propelled itself to the forefront of the conversation about the future of the satellite industry. Venture capital firms have begun pouring money into what many see as the next big stage of evolution for satellite; but along with those investments come concerns about when some smallsat companies will see profitability.
Craig Clark, CEO at Clyde Space, said: “The market is so young and there is a lot of opportunity. It’s a race to see who’s going to be the dominant player, so for me it’s not necessarily about profit. It’s more about where you position yourself in the market.”
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Chad Anderson, CEO at Space Angels Network, said: “Smallsats are still in their infancy. A lot of parts along the value chain need to be developed. Always in new industries you need some level of cooperation among future competitors before there is a market to compete over.”
Jason Andrews, CEO at Spaceflight Industries, said: “M2M, hyperspectral imaging, AIS ship tracking — someone needs to fuse all of that to provide insights for the customer. You have to be a bigger part of the ecosystem to generate meaningful returns.”
On the future, Chris Boshuizen, entrepreneur in residence at Data Collective, said: “The market is too saturated with companies that are very broad and shallow. I would like to see more specialization. Know your customers, have the relationships and have a deep understanding of their problem.” VS
