This week's episode of Space Ventures Radio examines Descartes Labs, a machine learning and predictive analytics startup using satellite imagery to predict crop yields, starting with corn in the U.S.

Important Update on the "Team" Section:

I missed mentioning Mark Mathis (Software Architect), Rick Chartrand (Mathematician) and Tim Kelton (Cloud Architect) in the founding team.

MARK MATHIS — For the past decade Mark has worked to help put great science into the hands of decision makers, a role he continues to pursue at Descartes Labs creating and curating rich customer experiences. He studied computer science and engineering at Texas A&M University before moving to Los Alamos National Laboratory as a DOE High Performance Computer Science Graduate Fellow.

RICK CHARTRAND — was once a pure mathematician, with a PhD from University of California, Berkeley. He now much prefers to be useful. Rick’s applied mathematics expertise includes image processing, machine learning, compressive sensing, and the iconoclasm of non-convex continuous optimization.

TIM KELTON — focuses on building distributed systems using cloud architecture. Prior to joining Descartes Labs, Tim was a Research and Development engineer for 15 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory working on problem areas such as deep learning, space systems, nuclear non-proliferation, and counterterrorism.

http://descarteslabs.com/team.html

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EPISODE SECTIONS

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2:32 - The Upshot

4:18 - The Problem

5:19 - The Solution

8:33 - The Business Model

10:53 - The Team

12:43 - The Competition

15:17 - The Roadmap

16:36 - The Conclusion

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RELEVANT LINKS

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Descartes Labs 2016 Corn Forecast: http://descarteslabs.com/forecast.html

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Intro music: “Take Me Higher” by Menya Hinga