Satlyt, founded by a former Google and SpaceX product manager, raises $8M to run AI on satellites

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Rama Afullo's Vision for Space Computing":"Rama Afullo, the founder of Satlyt, has a clear vision for the future of computing in space. He previously worked at SpaceX and Google, and he saw the potential for computers in space. Afullo believes that Satlyt's software can help many satellites share the work of large computing jobs in space. He compares his approach to companies like VMware and Snowflake, which offer platforms for running complex software without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.","

Satlyt's Software and Its Applications":"Satlyt's software is designed to operate AI models on satellites. The company has already flown its software on two demonstration missions. The initial focus is on finding operational efficiencies for spacecraft, which typically depend on flight controllers on the ground to solve any problems that arise. Satlyt's software can help reduce the size of transmissions about onboard software errors by more than 60%, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars per satellite each year. This week's launch will put Satlyt's software to work on a spacecraft built by TakeMe2Space, an Indian startup that builds computing hardware for satellites.","

The Future of Satlyt's Work":"Satlyt's next project is to show that it can create a shared computing system — a cloud — spanning two different satellites. If successful, it will allow the company to build a true compute cloud in orbit as a third-party provider to spacecraft builders. The company's goal is to be live on 20% of satellites by the end of the year, when virtually every spacecraft builder will be putting GPUs and similar advanced processors in their satellites."}