Day by day, satellites orbiting Earth seize terabytes of information—on local weather, terrain, power use, and safety patterns. But, most of it stays locked away in advanced codecs, accessible solely to extremely specialised specialists. RIFFAI, based by Kolatat Katousano, a satellite tv for pc and GIS professional with expertise at Schneider and Crown Property, goals to alter that.
On this unique KoreaTechDesk interview, Katousano explains how RIFFAI is redefining the worldwide use of satellite tv for pc information, unlocking its potential to information real-world selections—and the way Korea has grow to be a key launchpad for this imaginative and prescient as the corporate grew with Okay-Startup Grand Problem 2025.
“KSGC acted as a catalyst for RIFFAI, supporting income development, deepened our presence within the Asia-Pacific area, and enabled us to construct the strategic partnerships that proceed to form our long-term trajectory.”
The Origin of RIFFAI: Turning House Information into Actual-Time Earth Perception
Q1. What motivated you to begin this firm, and what core downside had been you attempting to resolve?
The core downside we got down to clear up is that space-generated information is massively underutilized as a result of it’s too advanced, fragmented, and inaccessible for many industries to make use of successfully.
RIFFAI was based on a easy realization: satellites produce monumental volumes of geospatial, meteorological, and environmental info, but solely a small portion of this information is remodeled into sensible insights for decision-making on Earth. Most organizations, throughout power, atmosphere, infrastructure, and intelligence, wrestle to extract significant insights as a result of the information requires specialised processing, superior modeling, and costly technical experience.
We began RIFFAI to shut this hole. Our motivation got here from seeing how transformative house information might grow to be if paired with fashionable AI able to automating evaluation, detecting patterns, and delivering actionable insights in actual time. By turning uncooked, advanced house information into accessible, ready-to-use perception, we assist industries function extra sustainably, predictively, and effectively.
Finally, we’re reshaping how the world makes use of house information—bringing house right down to Earth.
Why RIFFAI Believes Korea Is Prepared for AI-Pushed House Intelligence
Q2. What alternative or unmet want did you determine within the Korean market, and what early alerts satisfied you that your answer might acquire actual traction right here?
In Korea, we recognized two main gaps that align carefully with RIFFAI’s capabilities: power intelligence and space-enabled protection monitoring. Korea goals to extend its renewable power share to 35%, but the nation lacks environment friendly instruments to determine new surface-level and subsurface renewable assets. Our geo-energy intelligence platform, which integrates satellite tv for pc analytics with AI-driven subsurface modeling, immediately helps this want. Early conversations with power stakeholders confirmed sturdy curiosity in sooner and extra correct site-scouting options.
Within the protection sector, Korea presently operates forty-four satellites, in contrast with 200 9 in Japan and 9 hundred six in China. This creates a transparent hole in regional house consciousness. Korean protection companions highlighted the necessity for extra constant geospatial monitoring with out relying fully on nationwide satellite tv for pc capability. Early pilot discussions and requests for proof-of-concept analyses had been sturdy alerts that our AI-enhanced satellite tv for pc intelligence might deal with this strategic requirement.
These mixed indicators gave us confidence that RIFFAI might obtain significant traction throughout each sectors.
The Turning Level: A Partnership That Modified Every little thing at KSCG 2025
Q3. Throughout KSGC, had been there any mentors, companions, or particular insights that considerably influenced your product or technique?
One of the vital transformative influences throughout Okay-Startup Grand Problem 2025 got here via our partnership with Google, supported by steering from Esna, who led the Earth Katalyst program interviews. Early in RIFFAI’s growth, we struggled to course of eight terabytes of satellite tv for pc and climate information utilizing native machines and restricted cloud capability. A sudden enhance in AI processing precipitated our day by day cloud invoice to rise from fifty {dollars} to seven hundred fifty {dollars}, forcing us to halt mannequin coaching fully. At that time, it felt as if the corporate may not survive.
Throughout this system, we approached a number of cloud suppliers for assist, however it was Google—and particularly Esna—who acknowledged the potential influence of our mission. After a brief assembly, she accredited us for the Earth Katalyst program, granting twenty-five thousand {dollars} in credit that later expanded to greater than 5 hundred thousand {dollars} in Google assist.
This partnership reshaped our technical technique and enabled us to scale our Earth-observation AI in ways in which had been beforehand out of attain.
How KSGC 2025 Accelerated RIFFAI’s Development
This autumn. After becoming a member of KSGC, what has been essentially the most significant change to your firm and what proof helps this development?
Since becoming a member of KSGC, essentially the most significant change for RIFFAI has been our fast business and partnership development. Earlier than coming into this system, our income stood at USD 49,000. Throughout and after our participation in KSGC, this greater than doubled to USD 112,000, pushed by new prospects throughout the Asia-Pacific area who adopted our satellite- and AI-powered intelligence options.
KSGC additionally performed an important function in strengthening our entry into the Korean ecosystem. By means of program introductions and publicity, we established partnerships with key Korean house companies, analysis establishments, and main firms, giving us each technical validation and native market credibility. These relationships opened doorways to joint pilot tasks in geospatial analytics, renewable power web site evaluation, and defense-focused monitoring, areas the place Korea is actively in search of innovation.
Moreover, being embedded in Korea’s fast-growing house and AI atmosphere strengthened our product roadmap. Direct suggestions from Korean trade companions helped us refine our geo-energy intelligence fashions and develop our real-time monitoring capabilities.
Total, KSGC acted as a catalyst for RIFFAI. It supported income development, deepened our presence within the Asia-Pacific area, and enabled us to construct the strategic partnerships that proceed to form our long-term trajectory.
RIFFAI: Bringing House All the way down to Earth
Q5. Wanting forward, what’s an important imaginative and prescient or long-term objective your organization goals to realize, and what steps are you taking to maneuver towards it?
RIFFAI’s long-term imaginative and prescient is to grow to be the international engine that processes all Earth statement information, enabling satellites all over the world to ship real-time, accessible intelligence for each trade on Earth. We think about a future the place house know-how is now not distant or specialised, however an invisible infrastructure supporting day by day selections in power, agriculture, local weather, safety, transportation, and past.
To maneuver towards this imaginative and prescient, we’re beginning with a targeted technique. As we speak, we’re constructing deep area experience within the power sector, serving to nations and corporations determine renewable assets, optimize infrastructure planning, and speed up transition extra effectively towards sustainable programs.
On the identical time, we’re increasing our product pipeline to adjoining industries that face comparable information and operational challenges, creating pathways for insights developed in a single discipline to profit a number of others.
We’re additionally investing closely in scalable AI fashions, multi-satellite integration, and international information partnerships to make sure our platform can assist mission-critical functions throughout numerous areas. Every step with new companions, new industries, and new fashions brings us nearer to a world the place satellite tv for pc intelligence turns into as accessible and influential as web connectivity.
That’s the future RIFFAI is constructing towards.
From reworking satellite tv for pc information into tangible intelligence to bridging international industries via AI and house know-how, RIFFAI is proving that the way forward for sustainability and strategic decision-making lies above us — fairly actually.
Its journey via KSGC 2025 exhibits how innovation in orbit can reshape life on Earth, connecting the skies to the programs that energy economies, defend nations, and maintain communities.
About This Collection
This text is a part of the “Okay-Startup Grand Problem 2025 Interview Collection,” that includes 40 international startups from Part 2 of Korea’s main accelerator program. The sequence highlights how worldwide founders are scaling innovation via Korea’s startup ecosystem.
Learn extra tales from the Okay-Startup Grand Problem 2025 Interview Collection on KoreaTechDesk.
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