black skyIt is a geospatial data analysis company that started in Seattle. Today, it carried out the first day of public trading on the New York Stock Exchange and reached a blank check merger transaction, which received approximately US$283 million in capital.
The business combination with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp. (a special purpose acquisition company, SPAC) was approved by Osprey shareholders on Wednesday. The stock code of BlackSky’s common stock is BKSY, and the stock code of BlackSky’s warrants is BKSY.W.
Brian O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky, said: “Our team is delighted that we have reached this important milestone in our pioneering mission to lead a new era of real-time global intelligence. Said in the press release.
BKSY opened at US$7 per share. After a brief rise, it was slightly below the US$7 mark in early trading on the East Coast.
BlackSky began in 2013 as a subsidiary of Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries, with the goal of creating a satellite constellation for earth observation and a software platform for strategic analysis of data from satellites and other sources.
The company’s artificial intelligence-based Spectra platform can use this data to provide actionable information about issues, including The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on military installations arrive The impact of a ship stuck in the Suez Canal on global maritime traffic.
BlackSky went its own way last year. Japan’s Mitsui & Co. acquired another subsidiary of Spaceflight Industries in Seattle. Aerospace company In February, it was announced that the SPAC transaction with Osprey valued BlackSky at approximately US$1.5 billion.This includes BlackSky Leostra, A satellite manufacturing company in Tukwila, Washington (BlackSky’s partner in the joint venture is Thales Alenia Space.)
As a result of the business combination, BlackSky received approximately US$103 million in cash held by Osprey in trust, and US$180 million in public equity (PIPE) private investment proceeds. Just last week, BlackSky announced Palantir Technologies, co-founded by technology billionaire Peter Thiel, Will make equity investment in the merged company.
BlackSky said it currently has more than 200 employees. Most of them are in Herndon, Virginia, but 53 of them work in Seattle.
The company has seven global satellites in low earth orbit and plans to increase this number to 30 by 2025. Due to an abnormal second phase of the launch provider Rocket Lab, two satellites were lost in a launch in May.
Rocket Lab says it has Resolved the exception, Which was traced to a small malfunction in the engine ignition system, and six BlackSky satellites will be sent in one orbit Three back-to-back tasks This year.