The first minutes of a wildfire are a race against physics. Founded in 2020 by three Argentine teenagers, the Buenos Aires-based company has since graduated to a $2.7 million seed round and a claim that it can see a fire, on average, 35 minutes before NASA’s public monitoring system does [PreventionWeb, 2026].
The wedge is minutes, not miles
Satellites on Fire stitches together a live feed from multiple satellites, tower-mounted optical and thermal cameras, and weather forecasts [Satellites on Fire, 2024]. Proprietary AI models scan this combined data stream for the signature of ignition and then simulate how the fire might spread.
Traction in a burning landscape
The company reports protecting approximately 56 million hectares of land across 19 countries and having helped address more than 400 wildfire incidents [YouTube, 2024]. Its user base is reported at over 55,000 globally [Perfil, 2026]. Named customers include the beverage company Quilmes and renewable energy generator Genneia [Descubre VC, 2024].
| Founder | Role |
|---|---|
| Franco Rodríguez Viau | Co-founder & CEO |
| Joaquín Chamo | Co-founder & CPO |
| Ulises López Pacholczak | Co-founder |
Where the model could smolder
- The freemium funnel. The company uses a freemium model to attract users [Descubre VC, 2024].
- The moving baseline. The 35-minute advantage is a compelling wedge, but it is a feature, not a product.
- Sales complexity. A team of roughly 17 employees [Descubre VC, 2024] will be stretched thin navigating long sales cycles.
The next twelve months
With the seed capital in hand, the immediate focus will be on proving the enterprise sales motion. The value of 35 minutes is not in the minutes themselves, but in the hectares and dollars you can protect within them.