Hyperspectral imagery of Abu Dhabi. Photo: Pixxel

Hyperspectral Earth-imaging technology startup Pixxel raised $36 million in its Series B funding round and added Google to its list of investors, the company announced Thursday. Some of Pixxel’s existing investors Radical Ventures, Lightspeed, Blume Ventures, growx, Sparta and Athera also participated in the Series B financing, boosting the company’s total financing haul to $71 million.

Pixxel will use the money to build its planned high-resolution, climate change-monitoring hyperspectral satellite constellation and to speed up the development of its AI-powered analytics platform Aurora. The company said the new funds will bolster its plans to launch six satellites next year and another 18 satellites by 2025.

Data from the constellation and Aurora platform is designed to help data global organizations closely monitor emissions, water pollution, gas leaks, oil spills, soil composition, forest biodiversity and crop health in unprecedented detail and at faster speeds. Pixxel claims its analytics platform will provide up to 10x more information and increase the spectral resolution available by 50x compared to competing multispectral satellite systems.

It has been a busy year for Pixxel. The startup launched three pathfinder missions into orbit and signed a 5-year contract with the NRO Commercial Systems Program Office (CSPO) for the Strategic Commercial Enhancements for Commercial Hyperspectral Capabilities program.

In addition to the aforementioned investors, Pixxel is also backed by Accenture Ventures, Relativity’s Jordan Noone, Seraphim Capital, Ryan Johnson, Blume Ventures, Sparta LLC, and Omnivore VC.

Read more in Via Satellite Magazine: Hyperspectral Imaging Attracts a Host of Space Startups