Manifest Space with Morgan Brennan Planet Labs CEO Will Marshall on using AI for national security around the globe and the promise of data centers in space 12/11/25
8 snips
Dec 11, 2025 Will Marshall, Co-founder and CEO of Planet Labs, discusses the innovative use of AI in satellite imagery to enhance national security and economic monitoring. He highlights how their 200-satellite constellation analyzes data for real-time threat detection. The conversation explores potential space-based data centers and their advantages, alongside partnerships with Google and NVIDIA to pioneer computing in orbit. Marshall shares his vision for future energy sustainability by relocating heavy computing infrastructure off Earth.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
AI Turns Planet Imagery Into Answers
- Planet pairs global daily imagery from ~200 satellites with AI to surface critical events at scale for analysts.
- This approach lets users monitor huge regions and receive precise, actionable detections instead of scanning raw images.
Monitoring The South China Sea
- Will Marshall described helping a U.S. Navy analyst monitor the entire South China Sea for illicit activity like bunkering.
- He noted Planet tracks 13 million sq km to find ships and embargo violations so analysts can focus on specific targets.
Ask The Earth, Not Just The Internet
- Marshall calls the convergence of cheaper space data and AI a marriage that unlocks a new class of 'ask the earth' queries.
- He argues LLM-style interfaces over earth data let users query physical events as easily as web text.