To infinity and beyond: Deep tech ventures

From Orbit to Impact: Deep Tech Ventures Harnessing AI for a Sustainable Future

The discussion highlights deep tech’s crucial role in addressing significant global challenges. Artificial intelligence is presented as a transformative tool, particularly in understanding human actions in real-time and making complex information accessible. This approach aims to uncover the underlying causes of events, enabling scalable solutions to pressing issues.

The panel, including Co-Founder and Managing Partner Adam Niewinski, cautions against the prevalent misuse of the term “AI,” noting that many companies merely using AI tools are not true AI companies. Genuine AI involves processing vast amounts of smart data, generating meaningful outcomes, and incorporating self-learning processes. This rigorous application of AI is essential for developing robust solutions, especially in complex fields like space technology.

Space technology offers an unparalleled perspective, serving as the “ultimate high ground” for monitoring Earth. This unique vantage point allows for critical observation and tracking of global systems, providing data that is otherwise unattainable. This capability is vital for understanding environmental impacts and guiding interventions.

Mr. Pieter Fossel, Co-founder & CEO of Hydrosat, emphasizes the application of deep tech and satellite data to water management and agricultural challenges. Mr. Jerry Javornicky, Co-founder & CEO of SpaceKnow, reinforces this, highlighting the critical need for effective water management, citing regions like California facing severe water scarcity. These applications are crucial for climate resilience.

The panelists stress that the current advancements in space and AI are just the beginning. For AI to truly support complex processes, significant innovation in energy and computing power is required. This includes developing more efficient and cheaper processing capabilities to handle the immense data demands of advanced AI systems.

Mr. Adam Niewinski addresses the inherent risks in space ventures. He notes that hardware companies sending payloads to space, like SpaceX, are instrumental in making space more accessible and providing sensitive data. The focus should be on leveraging what space can offer through data, rather than solely on physical expansion.

Mr. Pieter Fossel explains Hydrosat’s strategy of deploying constellation satellites to gather data, which then feeds into existing products designed to solve specific challenges. Mr. Adam Niewinski suggests that mitigating risk involves deploying numerous, smaller satellites for focused missions, rather than relying on single, complex, high-risk launches, ensuring mission success through redundancy and simplicity.