Imagine a company that can predict which parts of the highway are most likely to have accidents today or which roads will be blocked due to waterlogging.
Computational Imaging (CI Metrics), a Gurugram-based startup, is making this vision a reality by using satellite data and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide businesses with real-world, actionable insights.
Founded in 2021 by Gagan Aggarwal and Abhishek Patil, who completed their BTech from Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Kerala, CI Metrics is using satellite imagery with AI to solve complex real-world problems. It uses state-of-the-art technology to predict road accidents, identify traffic disruptions due to waterlogging, and provide solutions that are considered impossible with traditional data sources.
Agarwal and Patil’s dream of setting up a research and development (R&D) laboratory in the spacetech and satellite sector was the driving force behind the creation of CI Metrics.
“Now is the time to pivot from an R&D based consulting model to a more SaaS based model, as we now see about 7-8 use cases that are very well defined and we are able to scale and build and charge for that consistently,” Agarwal said. says your story
Aggarwal previously worked at ISRO and then Northern Sky Research (now part of Analysis Mason) as a scientist heading satellite finance. Patil was a scientist and software engineer at ISRO for over nine years, bringing a strong understanding of satellite data collection and use. Working on missions like Chandrayaan, High Resolution Cartosat, Hyperspectral Hysis. They currently work with a small team of six employees.
How does it work?
B2B and B2G (business to government) startups provide real-world insights for businesses in sectors such as mobility, logistics, agriculture, and insurance. It taps into a vast repository of satellite data that spans 25 years and beyond. These include thematic data, population and traffic, weather patterns, and terrestrial data, among others.
Using raw satellite data, the company creates a standardized data structure or model, called a data ontology. This model organizes various types of data and combines them with physical relationships, such as weather effects on traffic, crop yields, etc., both historical and forecasted to drive out real-world insights.
CI Metrics uses machine learning and deep technology in its data models, which allows the company to predict events and forecast results with high accuracy.
By combining satellite data with other sources, the company provides insights to industries and helps them predict crop performance or weather events that could affect their supply chain. Similarly, FMCG and commodity companies can better understand macro trends and apply them to localized areas to forecast demand or risks.
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The company has three primary sources of income—project-based fees, revenue from its subscription model, and billings from customers based on time and materials being used (R&D oriented). Its minimum contract price starts at Rs 15 lakh and scales based on asset monitoring and required reports.
In FY24, the company achieved mid-six figures in USD revenue, serving around 10 customers. For FY25, the company has targeted an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of around Rs 4 crore.
Some of its major clients include Allianz Partners, an insurance firm; Google-backed Pixxel – a hyperspectral operator, and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
Their clients can access these analytics using a dashboard, which can be zoomed down to the farm parcel or 3×3 km forecast level depending on the application.
Aggarwal claims that the company has not seen any strong forecasting startups. The domain is either on the meteorological side or the actuarial side with insurance companies.
The bootstrapped startup aims to act as a B2B middleware company, sitting between satellite/weather data providers and the companies that use this data, such as insurers, farmers and credit providers. It aims to focus on R&D and large customers, not direct consumer solutions.
India’s space economy currently accounts for only 2% of the global market in 2024, but the country is aiming for significant growth. The government has set an ambitious goal of increasing its space economy to $44 billion by 2033, capturing 8 percent of the global market. In addition, India plans to export $11 billion worth of space products, according to the Remphrey & Sagar report.
This comes after Minister of State for Science and Technology and Minister for Space Dr Jitendra Singh flagged off the government’s efforts to increase public private participation (PPP) in the sector at a union meeting earlier this year.
The startup made it your storyof TechSparks, one of India’s premier startup events, this year. It was a part of the Tech30 list this year, highlighting its potential as one of the country’s most promising startups for 2024.