a16z Podcast

a16z Podcast: Space — the Near Frontier

Dan Berkenstock, John Gedmark, Steve Smith, and Martin Casado

Posted March 4, 2018

When most people think of space, they think of outer space: Mars, billionaires with rockets, and the “final frontier”. But space innovation is actually playing out right now — in an immediate and more accessible way, thanks to techonologies getting smaller, faster, and cheaper — through micro satellites that do everything from map terrain, to telecommunications that can provide connectivity even in remote areas.

This episode of the a16z Podcast — based on an November 2017 a16z Summit conversation moderated by general partner Martin Casado with Dan Berkenstock, founding CEO of Skybox Imaging; John Gedmark, CEO and co-founder of Astranis; and Steve Smith, former astronaut from NASA — covers how this trend of small satellites is developing, as well as what existing applications it will change to what new business opportunities it presents.