SpaceTy \China

Step 2 - First Satellite Launch via Rideshare (Months 13-24, $8M burn): Procure two 100kg satellites with multispectral sensors and edge AI compute ($5M total including launch). Book rideshare slots on Long March or iSpace missions targeting sun-synchronous orbit (10am/2pm local time for optimal agricultural imaging). Launch satellites and commission ground station network (partner with existing providers like KSAT or Swedish Space Corporation for downlink, $500K/year). Begin daily imaging of 10 million hectares across 5 provinces. Onboard 20 enterprise customers (agricultural insurance companies, commodity traders, provincial governments) at $100-300K annual contracts ($2.5M ARR). Prove unit economics: $250K satellite operational cost per year (amortized capex + ground station fees) supporting $2.5M revenue = 90% gross margin on software layer. Raise $20M Series A from growth-stage VCs based on satellite operational success and ARR traction.

Step 3 - Constellation Expansion and Vertical Integration (Months 25-48, $25M burn): Launch 6 additional satellites to achieve daily global revisit over China and Southeast Asia (total 8-satellite constellation, $15M capex). Expand use cases beyond agriculture: infrastructure monitoring for Belt and Road projects (pipeline monitoring, construction progress tracking), disaster response for emergency management bureaus (flood mapping, earthquake damage assessment), and smart city applications (urban heat island monitoring, traffic pattern analysis). Build developer API platform allowing third-party apps to access imagery and AI insights (usage-based pricing, $0.10 per API call). Reach $15M ARR across 100+ enterprise customers and 500+ API developers. Establish partnerships with Chinese tech giants (Alibaba Cloud, Tencent) for data marketplace distribution. Achieve operational profitability on software revenue (70% gross margin, $10M gross profit covers $8M opex). Raise $50M Series B for international expansion and advanced AI capabilities.

Step 4 - Moat Building and Strategic Positioning (Months 49-60, $30M burn): Develop proprietary hyperspectral sensors and onboard AI chips (partner with Chinese semiconductor firms like Cambricon or Horizon Robotics) to create 10x cost advantage over Western competitors. Launch 12 additional satellites with advanced sensors for specialized applications (methane leak detection for energy sector, ocean monitoring for fisheries, forest health for carbon credit verification). Expand to Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America markets via Belt and Road partnerships. Build data moat: 3+ years of continuous imagery creates proprietary training datasets for AI models that competitors cannot replicate. Establish government partnerships for national security applications (border monitoring, maritime domain awareness) providing regulatory protection and anchor revenue. Reach $50M ARR with path to $100M within 24 months. Position for strategic exit to Chinese tech giant (Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu) seeking space-based data infrastructure, or IPO on Shanghai STAR Market (China's NASDAQ equivalent for tech companies). The endgame is owning the 'eyes in the sky' data layer for China's digital economy, with satellites as the sensor network and AI as the intelligence engine—a $1B+ outcome leveraging aerospace as an enabler, not the primary business.