What is Blackshark.ai?

Blackshark.ai is an Austrian start-up that has recently raised €17.47M from Microsoft and other companies to generate a 3D digital twin of Earth. This company is a prime example of the great innovative potential that technology can bring, particularly in the mapping and geospatial services industry.

Let’s take a closer look at Blackshark.ai and understand the different features it offers.

Table of Contents

Blackshark.ai is an Austrian technology company that has created a digital twin of Earth. The twin is generated using artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision, enabling real-time data analysis and decision-making in the enterprise and industry sectors.

The company was founded by technology leaders from Europe, the Middle East and North America. They are on a mission to use AI, machine learning, and large-scale data processing to create unprecedented insights into global macro trends, resilience of economies, climate risks and dynamics of natural resource management.

Blackshark.ai recently raised €17.47M from Microsoft Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund and Satori Capital among other investors. The funds will be used to further develop the 3D digital twin platform that can help businesses build better solutions by understanding the human side of problem solving through the available resource structures on their platform. It is part of their vision to create realistic simulations of virtual cities complete with individual buildings up to street level resolution in pursuit of more efficient urban planning contexts for both government bodies and private investors looking for urban solutions connected to energy modeling or autonomous vehicles scenarios.

Background

Austria-based AI-driven geospatial and data analytics firm, Blackshark.ai recently raised €17.47M from Microsoft, Base10 and the European Investment Bank, to generate a 3D digital twin of the Earth.

It is a software which uses AI to create a digital copy of the physical world, and is expected to provide a range of new insights across various industries.

This article will explore the history and background of Blackshark.ai and its mission.

History of Blackshark.ai

Blackshark.ai is a leading global geospatial software and data infrastructure developer based in Austria. Founded in 2016 by CEO Gitty Seegers, CTO Florian Eyth, and CMO Riccardo Bertozzi under the parent company Spatial B, Blackshark.ai enabled their customers to explore, monitor and manage earth’s physical environment using satellite imagery and 3D data analytics technology.

As part of the growth strategy to expand its market reach and become a leader in geospatial knowledge and solutions, they received investments totaling €17.47 million from Microsoft Ventures, TalusOne Capital AG, Orange Digital Ventures among others in 2019.

Positioned between the growing digital transformation trend of automating everyday task processes that require analysis of physical environment through sophisticated algorithms such as deep learning—and tapping the potentials provided by persistent satellites which can monitor vast swaths of land—Blackshark.ai aims to drive innovation across industries with digital twin capabilities built based on their fintech solutions that provide reliable insights from data integration from sensors (from drones/aircrafts/boats) to generate 3D environments for asset tracking internally or offered externally for use with other AI applications.

Technology

Austria-based Blackshark.ai is on the forefront of revolutionary technology. The company has recently raised €17.47M from Microsoft, Intel, CVC Capital, and others to generate 3D digital twins of the Earth. This could transform how people interact with their environment, leading to several potential applications across different sectors.

Let’s take a look at what this technology entails.

Overview of Blackshark.ai’s technology

Blackshark.ai is an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) start-up based in Austria that works to develop technologies to map and model the Earth’s surfaces. Combining proprietary white box simulation technology with deep learning and cloud computing, Blackshark.ai uses multiple datasets to generate 3D digital twins of entire cities or countries with unprecedented accuracy.

The company has raised funds from Microsoft, Macquarie Capital, btov Partners, Bayern Kapital and other investors to support its mission to become a leading player in artificial intelligence technology. With its innovative methods, Blackshark.ai enables customers such as local administrators and digital mapping companies to create real-time replicas of urban environments, presenting possibilities for better decision making, operational efficiency, disaster mitigation measurements and more precise data for targeted applications.

Implementing AI models such as semantic segmentation – which classifies pixels based on objects – enhances mapping accuracy by detailing the ground truth of an environment such as buildings’ heights or streets’ widths. The collected data from these simulations can then be used and improved by successive algorithms which allow the creation of virtual versions of parts or fully composed environments generated by machine learning models trained on a combination of captured images processed with reality modeling technologies like lidar scanning and photogrammetry.

By generating precise 3D digital twins of cities utilizing AI models such as segmentation as well as various datasets combined with deep learning techniques that are tailored towards unique customer needs – Blackshark’s platform has enabled cost-effective mapping accessible to communities worldwide via cloud services delivering consistent and up-to-date 3D data simulation including accurate city structures accessible in real time throughout different devices.

Austria’s Blackshark.ai raises €17.47M from Microsoft, others to generate 3D digital twin of Earth

Austria’s Blackshark.ai raised €17.47 million from Microsoft and other investors in a Series A funding round.

The company aims to generate a 3D digital twin of the Earth, leveraging geospatial data and machine learning technology.

Blackshark.ai plans to use the funds to accelerate the development of its products and services.

Furthermore, the company will explore new markets and expand its reach.

Overview of Blackshark.ai’s funding

Blackshark.ai, a Vienna, Austria-based deep tech startup, has recently raised €17.47M in series A funding. The company aims to generate a 3D digital twin of the Earth using their advanced deep learning and computer vision technologies.

The round was led by Microsoft’s venture fund M12 and saw participation from Union Tech Ventures, Arm Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator, AIap Ventures LLC and others. The funds will be used for expanding Blackshark.ai’s research and development efforts and for global expansion of its team by hiring more data scientists and engineers with AI capabilities.

The company had previously raised €2 million in seed funding from OMERS Ventures, which had participated along with Microsoft Ventures in previous financing rounds.

Blackshark.ai is currently working on a detailed digital replica of the world that will be used for applications such as precision agriculture or large-scale emergency response planning requirements. For example, the data gathered from this project can identify various construction needs or emergency security measures required for large-scale events such as concerts or sporting events worldwide.

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Microsoft’s investment in Blackshark.ai

Austria-based Blackshark.ai, a startup working to generate digital twins of Earth using mobile and space technology, has secured €17.47 million in its Series A round led by Microsoft and others. Mubadala Capital and Iris Capital also participated in the round along with the existing investors from the seed funding amounting to €1.75 million.

The raised funds will be utilized to boost the development of their proprietary geospatial intelligence platform. It leverages data from multiple sources like satellites, UAVs (drones), street imagery and IoT (Internet of Things) sensors offering complete integration, analysis, and visualization of data collected or even predicted. Also, it will support the company to strengthen its team consisting of geospatial engineering experts across Europe with headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

According to Stefan Daheimeister, General Partner at Iris Capital added that in today’s world access to accurate and up-to-date geographic information is becoming increasingly important as large parts of our economy are rapidly digitalising leading companies who were traditionally lagging in terms of “intelligence” behind their competitors making it difficult for them to succeed in their respective markets.

Johannes Ehleggerstaiger, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Blackshark said that joining forces with these excellent partners accelerates our mission towards a maximally automated 3D geo intelligence platform which is available globally allowing customers to access high-quality data quickly helping them reach their objectives at minimum cost as well as paving way for new services enabled by EarthVisionTM – a real-time 3D digital twin simulating Earth’s environment – ranging from emergency management or urban planning pursuits but also cartography or precision agriculture applicable scenarios enabled by EarthVisionTM simply not been possible before this massive investment was enabled on their side.

Impact

Blackshark.ai’s fundraising round is one of the most successful tech investments in the Austrian startup scene. The total of €17.47 million that the company has secured from global tech giants, such as Microsoft, will help revolutionize how digital twins are created and deployed.

With this funding, Blackshark.ai will be able to develop its 3D digital twin of Earth, making it easier to understand the environment and its changes. This technology can potentially offer valuable insights and services to various industries.

Potential applications of Blackshark.ai’s technology

Austria-based startup Blackshark.ai has developed a technology that can generate 3D digital twins of Earth with exceptional accuracy and detail. This technology is powered by state-of-the-art proprietary algorithms, artificial intelligence, and the power of cloud computing to enable users to make better decisions about their business, environment and society.

The potential applications of this technology are numerous and highly beneficial for both industries and consumers. Industries could use it to monitor, analyze, map and simulate their environment as they build infrastructure to make informed decisions which will benefit both people and the planet. With this level of detailed analysis available in real time, industries can accurately predict when weather conditions or natural disasters will threaten operations, thus allowing them to minimize damage risks.

The accuracy of this 3D digital twin could also revolutionize GPS navigation aids by increasing their accuracy levels thus making them safer to use while driving or flying in remote or unfamiliar places. Moreover, it could have great implications for the insurance sector as businesses will have access to data that assesses and accurately predicts areas of risk that can help reduce premiums insurance costs for companies operating in certain areas and individuals who reside there.

Furthermore this technology could support environmental conservation efforts worldwide with insights into geographical features such as terrain maps paired with existing biases, prejudices or even warzones enabling more proactive preventive methods from taking effect rather than reactive measures once harm has been done. Ultimately these may prove instrumental in creating social cohesion through conversations that would help promote sustainable development and peace building within countries leading to an even more unified and connected global population enabled by such advanced technologies today.

Conclusion

Blackshark.ai is an Austrian start-up focused on digital twin technologies. The company was founded in 2020 with the mission to create a 3D digital twin of the entire planet. It has recently raised €17.47M from Microsoft and other investors to further develop its technology and deploy its solution worldwide.

Blackshark.ai creates a 3D virtual representation of our physical world that captures existing and historical data conventions as well as current conditions of our surroundings and environment. Their full stack technology generates high resolution, consistent, and accurate multi-dimensional models and representations at any scale ranging almost down to ground level accuracy while being prepared for upcoming long-distance logistics applications and more use cases out of traditional remote sensing domains such as smart cities, humanitarian relief, agriculture and charting previously unmapped areas efficiently in detail for mapping activities such as surveying, 4D asset tracking in many areas of the world – (natural resources monitoring), AEC industry (architecture, engineering & construction) analytics for law enforcement agencies etc..

The implications of this technology are enormous since it allows better forecasts of natural events since it constantly updates the Earth’s information throughout the year; enables stakeholders to have better decisions based on facts instead subjective opinion; provides richer context for making scientific observations; create a cognitive advantage over those who do not have access to such systems to stay competitive; facilitates real-time analysis helping decision makers make informed decisions faster when they can’t traverse their environment due to health or financial restrictions; enable better infrastructure planning increasing efficiency & effectiveness in delivering services & distribution centers; enable higher quality optimization for strategic resource allocation for big data analytics; helps understand human interactions with urban development over time by providing detailed information about what people are doing where, when & with whom etc.. The list goes on…

Therefore, Blackshark’s comprehensive acquisition capabilities advances us one step closer towards achieving global coverage, timely analytics, and decisions related to objectives in near real time, which is why Blackshark’s ground breaking technology presents an immense potential value creation across many industries also serving critically needed sustainability goals worldwide.