Arlula

Arlula is addressing the historically complex and costly market of Earth observation (EO) by providing a unified access point for satellite imagery. The company was founded in 2018 by Sebastian Chaoui and Arran Salerno. The duo met at the University of Technology Sydney Space Society, combining Chaoui's mechatronics engineering background and experience leading Australia's first mission to the International Space Station with Salerno's commercial and legal expertise to tackle inefficiencies in the satellite data market. They identified that valuable data from thousands of satellites was underutilized due to fragmented access, lengthy negotiations, and a lack of commercial-friendly business models.

The company operates a B2B SaaS model centered around its Geostack Terra platform. This platform functions as an infrastructure layer, aggregating imagery from a global network of commercial and government satellite operators into a single, cloud-based API. This eliminates the need for customers to manage multiple technical integrations, contracts, and payment systems. Clients can search extensive archives, some dating back to the 1970s, or task satellites for new image captures on-demand, reducing acquisition times from weeks to minutes. Revenue is generated by simplifying and streamlining the procurement and management of this data for a diverse client base that includes industries such as mining, oil and gas, forestry, defense, and government. Customers range from small businesses to large enterprises like Lockheed Martin and government bodies including the US Space Force and the government of Japan.

Arlula has achieved significant milestones, including securing a total of AUD $2.2 million (USD $1.5 million) in a seed funding round in May 2023, led by Main Sequence and Black Nova Venture Capital. This was followed by a strategic, undisclosed investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures in October 2023. These investments are aimed at expanding into new markets and further developing the Geostack Terra platform's capabilities. The company has also secured key partnerships, such as an integration with Saber Astronautics' marketplace for the US Space Force and a deal with NTT Data to provide the Japanese government with enhanced access to EO data for disaster response and climate tracking.

Keywords: Earth observation data, satellite imagery API, geospatial data platform, Geostack Terra, remote sensing, satellite tasking, GIS data, environmental monitoring, asset monitoring, space technology, Sebastian Chaoui, Arran Salerno, Main Sequence, Lockheed Martin Ventures, satellite data aggregation, imagery procurement, situational awareness, mining, oil and gas, forestry, defense applications, disaster response, climate tracking, US Space Force, NTT Data