On the All-In Podcast, Planet Labs CEO Andrew Feldman delivered a reality check on going public, calling it "garbage" and emphasizing that public markets primarily serve to provide liquidity for early shareholders. He noted that timing an IPO is a skill learned through mistakes over a decade.
Feldman revealed that 60% of Planet’s revenue comes from military contracts, underscoring the Pentagon's critical role in the space economy. He described the miniaturization of satellites as a revolution comparable to the shift from mainframes to desktop computers, with Earth observation data alone representing a $75 to $100 billion market.
AI and Space Convergence
Feldman argued that when launch costs drop to $200-$300 per kilogram, it will be cheaper to build data centers in orbit than on Earth. He claimed solar panels in sun-synchronous orbits generate significantly more energy than ground-based arrays. Within a decade, he predicted, most computing will take place in space, generating trillions in revenue and surpassing the entire current space industry.
The conversation highlighted the deepening intersection of AI hardware and space infrastructure as a key driver of the next technological epoch.