Wyvern
Canadian commercial hyperspectral Earth observation company, headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. Y Combinator alumni; approximately USD 21M raised. Explicit mining-vertical positioning (Olympic Dam imagery on website). Operates the Dragonette constellation: three Gen 1 / Gen 1b 6U CubeSats launched 2023 (Dragonette-001 at 23 bands 503-799 nm; -002 and -003 at 32 bands 445-880 nm; spectrally not interchangeable across the two generations), plus Dragonette-004 and -005 on a different Loft Orbital platform with larger imaging and downlink capacity. The upcoming Rosette satellites extend coverage into SWIR via deployable optics, targeting rare earth element detection, tailings analysis, and GHG super-emitter mapping. Open data programme; CEO Chris Robson.
Wyvern is a Canadian commercial hyperspectral Earth observation company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, founded in 2018 by four University of Alberta graduates: Chris Robson (CEO), Kurtis Broda, Kristen Cote, and Callie Lissinna.[^yc-profile] A Y Combinator W22 alumnus, the company raised approximately USD $18 million across eight rounds through October 2024, with investors including Uncork Capital, MaC Venture Capital, Squadra Ventures, and Y Combinator.[^techcrunch-6m] In February 2026, NordSpace Ventures made an undisclosed strategic investment to accelerate Wyvern's next-generation Rosette programme.[^nordspace-invest]
Wyvern's hyperspectral imagery reaches customers through two infrastructure arrangements. The first three satellites, Dragonette-001, -002, and -003, were built and are owned by AAC Clyde Space under a GBP 8.4 million Space Data as a Service contract signed in June 2021.[^aac-sda-contract] Under that arrangement, AAC Clyde Space designed, manufactured, and operates the three 6U EPIC VIEW CubeSats (marketed by AAC Clyde Space as EPICHyper-1, -2, and -3), while Wyvern subscribes to the imagery data for four years with annual extension options. Dragonette-001 launched on SpaceX Transporter-7 in April 2023; -002 and -003 followed in June and November 2023.[^aac-epichyper1-launch] The three CubeSats capture VNIR hyperspectral imagery, though spectral configurations differ between satellites: Dragonette-001 covers 23 bands from 503 to 799 nm while -002 and -003 each cover 32 bands from 445 to 880 nm.
From 2025, Wyvern transitioned to Loft Orbital's Mission as a Service platform. Dragonette-004 flew as a hosted payload on Loft Orbital's YAM-8 microsatellite, launched on SpaceX Transporter-13 in March 2025; Dragonette-005 followed on YAM-9 aboard Transporter-15 in November 2025.[^loft-partner-announce] The YAM-hosted satellites offer substantially larger imaging and downlink capacity than the 6U CubeSats and deliver imagery at 5.3 m ground sampling distance across 31 VNIR bands.[^wyvern-product-guide] Dragonette-006 is planned for 2026 on the same platform. With four satellites operational, the constellation achieves a 1.6-day average revisit at the equator and covers 82 degrees north to 82 degrees south.
Wyvern's primary customer markets are mining and mineral prospecting, agriculture, forestry and ESG reporting, energy, and defence.[^wyvern-tech] In September 2025, Wyvern signed a distribution partnership with Nara Space for Asia-Pacific market access. The company also operates an Open Data Program providing free archive imagery for research and development uses. Wyvern's next-generation Rosette constellation, targeting 110-plus spectral bands across VNIR and SWIR (440 to 2500 nm), is in development, with NordSpace envisioning future Rosette payloads launched on Canadian rockets from Canadian soil.