Satellite technology has brought about a number of benefits for people on the ground, such as improved weather forecasting and communications. 

In particular, a type of satellite called the Synthetic Aperture Radar or SAR satellites, can monitor ground activity 24/7 and penetrate rain, smoke and cloud cover, allowing governments to monitor weather conditions such as tropical storms and wildfires. 

And that’s exactly what our guest does. Established in 2018, Synspective is a Japanese end-to-end satellite data and solution provider. The startup has a SAR satellite constellation that enables high-frequency and high-resolution Earth observation. 

It combines the data collected with machine learning and data science techniques to derive insights on issues such as flood damage, land displacement and forestry inventory management. The insights are then provided to both private and public sector clients, such as government agencies.  

But why are we speaking to Synspective? Well, the firm is seeing a number of interesting developments of late. 

For one thing, it was awarded a 4.1 billion yen grant by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Japan  to develop innovative applications using SAR satellites as at the end of 2023. So what can we expect on this front?

Meanwhile, the startup also signed an agreement with Uzbekistan’s Centre for Space Monitoring and Geoinformation Technologies and the national space agency of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary in January to carry out research or develop new applications to collect data for disaster management. But how far is Central Asia a bright spot for Synspective?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Vincent Kessler, General Manager Synspective SG.