Get the latest tech news

Near Space Labs nabs $20M to take its high-res imaging Swift robots into the stratosphere

When it comes to creating images of the earth from above, satellites, drones and planes are the air and spacecraft that tend to come to mind. But a

The startup is the brainchild of Rema Matevosyan (CEO), Ignasi Lluch (CTO) and Albert Caubet (chief engineer), all three technical founders who worked in space and physics technology and research prior to starting the company. Matevosyan said that one of its biggest customer segments to date has been the insurance industry, which takes subscriptions to receive Near Space imagery to help track and understand the impact of large-scale disasters like fires and hurricanes. But the plan is to scale this up, something Matevosyan said can be done relatively easily, since the company requires no special licenses to fly since its Swift robots (the aircraft it has designed) are only ‘powered’ by balloons and then need only wind currents and are unmanned to move about the stratosphere.

Get the Android app