From NASA to Startup: Building the Future of Satellite Imaging | Vishnu Sridhar (Podcast #26)

What if satellite imaging could go beyond RGB and actually see the molecular makeup of our planet?

In this episode, the former NASA engineer turned co-founder and CEO breaks down how his startup, Matter Intelligence, is creating a new class of earth observation sensors that go beyond RGB to capture the molecular makeup of the planet. We talk about hyperspectral imaging, how Matter’s satellites work, commercial vs. government go-to-market strategy, and why most of today’s satellite data is basically noise. Plus: alien life, Carl Sagan, digital twins, and why the maps of the future won’t look anything like Google Maps.

(0:00) - Intro

(0:58) - Meet Vishnu Sridhar, CEO of Matter

(2:29) - Building Cameras for Space

(4:48) - The Physics Behind Hyperspectral Imaging

(7:02) - Full-Stack Satellite Ops & Data Access

(10:57) - From NASA to Startup Founder

(13:46) - Alien Talk, Trump Quotes & Pop Science

(16:09) - Fundraising & Building a Hardware Company

(21:05) - Commercial vs. Government Sales Strategy

(26:24) - Tracking Hypersonic Missiles from Space

(30:06) - Startup Tradeoffs: Build vs. Buy

(36:58) - Terraforming Mars & Space Colonization

(43:12) - Data Moats & the Path to Monopoly

(47:00) - Building the Earth’s Digital Twin

(51:00) - Future Vision: B2C Satellite Applications

Vishnu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishnu-sridhar/

Matter Intelligence: https://matter.com/

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