Sparkgeo is working to make the most of the stunning potential of the Earth Data Store (EDS).
As satellite imagery becomes more widespread, the geospatial data it generates can guide city growth, improve environmental sustainability, and predict and respond to disasters such as forest fires and floods.
By measuring financial exposure to environmental risks, Sparkgeo’s analytic products deliver insights that benefit businesses by making this complex and abundant data consumable and applicable. No wonder the insurance industry is an area of focus. “Insurance companies are losing their shirts on climate change, and with this technology, we can manage environmental risk in an effective, proactive way,” says founder and CEO Will Cadell. “A refinery, for instance, could reduce its insurance costs by protecting wetlands to mitigate flood risk. In this way, the insurance sector can be used as an instrument for conservation.”
Based in the relatively isolated B.C. city of Prince George, Sparkgeo is a “remote-first company,” Cadell says. “In effect, we are based nowhere. That’s a key differentiator for us because we can access talent from across Canada, and serve the financial sector in London as easily as the tech sector in Silicon Valley.”
That’s where the Supercluster’s unique collaborative model comes in. “We are helping the EDS platform deliver value to the global markets we already access while leveraging the skills and expertise of other organizations to manage our ability to execute and determine where our R&D is most useful,” Cadell explains.