The future of satellite images from space may just be determined by a startup grown right in the heart of Durham—seemingly the first of its kind.
The startup began as a bold dissertation concept. While obtaining his PhD from Duke University, now-CEO Michael Boyarsky had a worldly idea to prototype a technology that would use a form of electromagnetics called metamaterials for satellite imaging, and specifically a type of imaging called synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
Boyarsky consulted with his then-research advisor David Smith, and the pair ultimately co-founded Extellis, a satellite imaging startup that will redefine the standards for these images by using patented metasurface technology to enhance wide-area scanning at a reliable high resolution—no matter the weather or circumstances.
While other technologies capture hundreds of images per day, the Duke-grown startup could capture thousands, according to its website.
These and other capabilities of the Extellis approach so clearly address needs in today’s market that the company has already received meaningful financial support, first in the form of $3.3 million in non-dilutive funding ($2.3 million of which came from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)) and then through an additional $6.8 million to flesh out a seed round in November of 2025.
This week, Extellis announced that it has added additional funding from Shell Ventures.
Boyarsky emphasized, “We’re really excited to continue to learn from [Shell]. For me, it speaks volumes about the market appetite, to know that there is a major customer company that clearly has huge needs for satellite imaging and is unsatisfied with today’s offerings, or looking for more.”
The Extellis difference
What Boyarsky and Smith developed is a unique architecture of metamaterials that addresses common challenges in the imaging sector of the space industry—namely, limited power and limited ability to handle heat—as well as the need for better SAR imaging that can see at night and through clouds (especially in areas where the current systems are lacking what companies need).
According to the Extellis team, current SAR systems were not built for the scale now needed by commercial customers. Optical satellites can’t scan at night or through clouds. Electronically steered antennas can see through clouds, but have limited scanning power and operate for about two percent less of the time. Reflector dish systems take time to rotate, limiting how many images can be scanned.
“For a planet that is 70% of the time in cloud clover and 50% in nighttime, optical sensors really limit opportunities and many areas can’t get new imagery,” Boyarsky explained. “For parts of the world, like Singapore, which is home to one of the busiest ports of the world, their 90 to 95% cloud cover might mean no new images for a month. By then, ships have moved across the whole Pacific.”
Extellis’ antenna technology would provide horizon-to-horizon beamsteering from a lightweight, low-cost, and planar architecture. Its wider scans would also require less power than today’s solutions.
“Extellis’ focus on delivering high-quality, reliable satellite intelligence is a unique proposition and has the potential to serve a broad range of industrial applications,” said Queenie Co, managing director of Shell Ventures. “The capture of consistent, actionable data could enable more timely and informed decision-making, supporting improved operational efficiency at scale across a broad range of industries.”
When asked why a technology like this hasn’t been patented before, especially with the increased need in the past decade due to conflicts in the Middle East, rise of shipping and other use cases, Boyarsky said it’s because the metamaterials domain is very new. In general, the commercial space industry was a lot different 10 years ago compared to today.
Use cases and the road ahead
Boyarsky said that in the last 15 years, there has been a unique shift toward more applied device solutions. But each will always require its own unique architecture. For instance, airport scanners will require a different architecture than lidar scanning or communications. Each unique application needs its own metamaterial architecture. With how new the space is, Boyarsky said there just hasn’t been time or effort to mesh the means together.
“We find more use cases every day, and today’s SAR systems don’t have the volume,” Boyarsky said. “Analytics companies want consistent, reliable imagery that can cover large areas, every day or every week or every couple hours, whatever their application might need. I think there’s not a satellite imaging provider that provides a combination of reliability and scale in the way that a lot of these providers need, and that’s what we’re offering.”
Following the successful seed round, Boyarsky said Extellis will use the funds to support their Pathfinder mission, which will expand its team, build out a manufacturing lab and office space, and develop antennas as a payload.
While Extellis plans to own its satellites and antennas, the eventual goal is not to be a spaceship or satellite factory, but rather to sell the data and images that the antenna scans to the companies that need it.
QUICK BITS
Startup: Extellis
Co-Founders: Michael Boyarsky and David Smith
Founded: 2025
Team size: 10
Location: Durham
Website: extellis.com
Funding: Seed
“We’re actively building a network of partners that do analytics distribution,” Boyarsky said. “These images are not human readable. No satellite image, really, is meant for human direct consumption, they’re meant for algorithms to analyze and extract. So whether that’s trying to look at trees growing in the power lines, or how ships are moving on the ocean, we ultimately want to partner with a lot of those companies [such that] we provide the raw data, raw images and share revenue.”
While this technology would be useful for defense systems or communications pipelines, Boyarsky wants to democratize its use cases and broaden the access for everyone, whether that’s farmers who want the data to make their operations more efficient or energy companies to maintain the health of their infrastructure.
He said the Extellis team is always looking to connect with anybody that is interested in what they’re building, expand the network, and “just hopefully get other people as excited about what we’re doing as we are.”
