Planet Labs Rockets To $118 Million In Series C Funding To Cover The Earth In Tiny Satellites

Planet Labs, a startup that has pledged to cover the Earth in tiny satellites, announced the close of $118 million in Series C funding today. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a division of the World Bank led the second closing of this latest round, exceeding the expected amount of $95 million.
We reported back in January that Planet Labs had raised a total of $95 million in Series C funding to build out its low-orbit satellite imaging system. The first $70 million of the funds from that round came from Data Collective, with participation from existing investors Yuri Milner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Capricorn Investment Group, O’Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures (OATV), Founders Fund, First Round Capital, Innovation Endeavors, AME Cloud Ventures, Industry Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Lux Capital, and Ray Rothrock.
IFC popped in an unexpected extra bit of cash at the close of the round, bringing the total up to $118 million in Series C funding.

Global head of venture capital at IFC Nikunj Jinsi said of the investment on Planet Labs’ blog that this was an “important tool for economic development and disaster risk response.” He further went on to say that, “IFC’s investment will help ensure more companies and communities in developing countries have the information they need to grow in a smart and sustainable way.”
This now brings the total amount raised for Planet Labs to $183 million.