#46: Why Thermal Data Will Transform Earth Observation (feat. Constellr’s Max Gulde, Co-Founder & CEO)

2025-12-02

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What if you could take the temperature of the entire planet - accurately, continuously, and in high resolution?In this episode, we sit down with Max Gulde, co-founder & CEO of Constellr, whose team is launching a global thermal intelligence layer powered by microsatellites. Their goal: unlock new capabilities across agriculture, defense, urban planning, climate resilience, and beyond.Max shares the unfiltered story behind Constellr’s rise - from ISS payload fiascos and 14 failed grant applications, to two successful s...

What if you could take the temperature of the entire planet - accurately, continuously, and in high resolution?

In this episode, we sit down with Max Gulde, co-founder & CEO of Constellr, whose team is launching a global thermal intelligence layer powered by microsatellites. Their goal: unlock new capabilities across agriculture, defense, urban planning, climate resilience, and beyond.

Max shares the unfiltered story behind Constellr’s rise - from ISS payload fiascos and 14 failed grant applications, to two successful satellite launches and major governmental partnerships. Along the way, he breaks down why thermal is the most underrated data source in Earth observation, and why accuracy (not just resolution) is the real game-changer.

We also dive into:

🌡️ Why temperature is the only continuous environmental variable - and why that unlocks “interpolated” EO data

🚀 How Constellr went from a Fraunhofer spin-off to a venture-backed space company

🔭 The difference between thermal sensing and traditional optical/radar data

🌍 Agriculture, defense, urban heat, industrial monitoring - and the markets thermal will reshape

🛰️ What’s coming next: 10+ satellites, meter-level thermal, and a queryable digital twin of the planet

Max’s stories are wild, insightful, and often hilarious - so don’t miss it.

Follow Max & Constellr:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-gulde-6563573/

https://www.constellr.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellr/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxe1n8xrOopkNKsDQqxVnUQ