Apple founder Steve Wozniak has set his sights on changing the way we look at stars. With his start-up Privateer, he wants to take an impressive combination of Google Maps and Uber to space. But what exactly is the goal?
Since its founding in 2021, Privateer’s goal has been clear. The company wants to make space data more accessible to everyone on Earth. With the introduction of its new online marketplace, it is now taking bigger steps toward achieving that goal.
Apple founder combines Google Maps with Uber
Privateer’s marketplace frankly reminds me a bit of Google Maps, especially with the revolution the application brought to the way we navigate the earth. Like the ability to have the world at your fingertips, Privateer wants nothing more than to make hundreds of observation satellites accessible.
Through its new e-commerce platform, customers can collectively share rides on satellites. This could quickly reduce the cost of using them from $500 per use to $50 per use. Sort of the same idea as Uber Pool, but with a slightly different approach.
The online marketplace has been named Wayfinder and actually works quite easily. Once customers are interested in similar data from different parts of the earth, they connect to the nearest available satellite. Once there are more customers interested in making this connection at that time, the cost of using it will be shared.
Pono and AI bring to mind Uber optimization
Although consumers on Earth are not the only people Privateer wants to target. So it’s more than a Google Maps or an Uber for space. Apple founder Steve Wozniak wants to change the space game through Pono and AI.
Pono is Privateer’s own development and should enable computational tasks, such as data processing in space. It improves a satellite’s efficiency by reducing its dependence on resources on Earth.
Combined with software equipped with AI tools, the satellites learn completely independently. They know better over time what data to collect, which locations are best for observation, and satellite operators can perform heavy work in space themselves.
While different from an Uber ride, it does remind us of the service. It also uses an AI-driven program to reduce wait times and optimize routes.
Apple founder wants Google Maps for space
When Privateer was founded in 2021, the ultimate plan was to make space more sustainable. Although Apple founder Steve Wozniak’s startup is changing course a bit, that dream remains alive.
Privateer actually wants to develop a Google Maps for space. Maps allow operators to follow optimal trajectories, avoid collisions or even minimize fuel costs.
The combination of Google Maps and Uber can be seen as a new chapter in space travel. Privateer wants to create a harmonious environment in space where data can be collected and shared sustainably and efficiently.
While that may not sound extremely special anno 2023, this is a great time to reflect on how far we have come in the meantime. Because when I tell this to my grandfather, the man loses dentures in amazement. Without a doubt.