Hawkeye 360 CEO on IPO, SpaceX Partnership

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]Welcome back to opening bell. The very latest from the floor here on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Maybe you saw them at the opening bell and the company Hawkeye 360 and going public IPO here at the New York Stock Exchange.

[00:00:14]John Saraphini, the company's CEO is with me now. So glad you're here.

[00:00:20]Congratulations to you and the team, John. So tell us a little bit about Hawkeye 360.

[00:00:25]>> Well, Hawkeye is a very unique company.

[00:00:27]We own and operate a constellation of satellites that collect radio frequency data. We then take that data and we convert it into actionable intelligence products for defense and intelligence customers around the globe.

[00:00:39]>> And so at this point now why is this such an important because we we've been talking a lot about satellites in the last I'd say couple of years. It wasn't a topic for us a few years ago and now it's everywhere. I mean why do we need all this data? because you're taking those uh you know signals and intelligence and turning them into some really key data and and analytics right like what >> sure uh so with our satellites we're able to geollocate signals generally a signal above a watt in power we can detect from space we can geollocate it process it analyze it and convert it into an answer for our war fighter community be it the United States or our allies this uh manifests itself in places like the South China Sea or the East Sea, places like Ukraine and the Middle East where American war fighters are doing very challenging important things.

[00:01:31]>> It really is unbelievable. You're coming in right at the right time. I mean, you must feel um quite patriotic at this point, too. I mean, you're doing a really important job. I mean, more not that it's more than ever, but really it's we're always trying to make our country better year after year, decade after decade. So, uh like Mark Rubio said, I thought that was nice how he said that. Tell me more about how you're feeling now and why this is so important to you personally.

[00:01:54]>> Well, to put it specifically, Hawkeye is a company built for the war fighter by the war fighter in service of the war fighter. We serve those who serve our nation. And having access to the public markets here at the New York Stock Exchange is not only a a wonderful validation of us as a company, but it provides access to resources that we can leverage to continue to grow profitably.

[00:02:16]A while back I had seen uh 30 satellites. How many satellites are you hoping to have now in the future? I mean what's on the agenda?

[00:02:25]>> Well, not to disclose operational information, but we're meaningfully over 30 satellites in space. It provides exceptional revisit and uh very great data latency to get the data down to our customers very quickly.

[00:02:37]>> And uh what kind of satellites? Are there different types of satellites that capture different types of things? Yeah.

[00:02:42]So, our satellites are equipped with softwaredefined radios and a variety of different antennas that allow us to detect signals in a certain band. And we we detect and when we geoloccate those signals down to a certain amount of resolution.

[00:02:56]>> And I think about the parts that are needed, how these are all built, the supply chain, even chips, uh where do we stand on AI or supply chain issues? How are things going and where are you building a lot of these? And we're very fortunate because we build our satellites. We design them. We manufacture them as well as a software defined radio payload. We do the integration and the testing in Virginia.

[00:03:17]It's a great Virginia company. We launch with partners like SpaceX and Rocket Lab and others. And then we own and operate this constellation, extract the intelligence that we're looking for and provide directly to our customers. So, we're fully integrated throughout the value chain.

[00:03:31]>> So, working with SpaceX, that's pretty that's a big deal. And we have the IPO coming. um your thoughts on you know now the IPO that's coming is going to be huge and do you have a part in that IPO?

[00:03:42]Are you partnering with them or do you share information? How do you work with SpaceX?

[00:03:47]>> SpaceX, uh Elon and Gwen have been wonderful partners to Hawkeye. They've provided us with consistent lowcost access, reliable access to space which has unlocked our business model and enabled us to support the war fighter.

[00:04:01]>> What's the biggest threat now? I mean are we worried about other nations because you mentioned our allies um and there are those who are not our allies.

[00:04:10]Do you find uh constant threats and I mean malware seems so little you know what's the what's the threat to satellites in your realm?

[00:04:18]>> Well we live in a difficult world.

[00:04:19]>> Yeah it's a dangerous world. I like to think that Hawkeye is contributing to global security and global safety for Americans and American interests, but certainly we have to contend with a variety of different circumstances and we've been very successful in the past.

[00:04:33]>> And what did you think about the IPO process? I mean um you have obviously a big past and and um this type of realm, you know, in finance and everything, but what are your thoughts on the IPO price?

[00:04:44]You had the road show. How did you feel about bringing this company public today? Uh I'm extremely excited about the quality of the book of the new investors, the institutional investors, the hedge funds who are coming in behind us and going to be working with us for the long term. We've been able to attract a variety of extremely strong longies and mutual funds. We're really excited about this lineup.

[00:05:06]>> So the book looks good. When we think about across the country, you're based in Virginia. That's where and you're doing a lot of the building on your own.

[00:05:14]So you're doing manufacturing. What's the labor market looking like? What are your needs um as far as the economy goes across the country?

[00:05:22]>> Well, we look at revenue per employee.

[00:05:24]It's an important metric of productivity for us and we perform extremely well in that regard. So, we don't need a lot of employees. I need the best employees. We really understand signals intelligence who understand how to process RF data and build small satellites. We've been equipped with 400 such amazing Americans and uh we'll continue to hire great people moving forward.

[00:05:45]>> Yeah. What were your thoughts on Artemis for example? We had some of the astronauts here last Friday. I think it's an exciting time. Um, do you think people are receiving wanting to explore space and gather information from space more than ever? I mean, what are some color stories that you know colorful stories of people you've spoken to and probably some seuite level folks who now really recognize that this is where we can get information. This is where we can get energy even. Right.

[00:06:14]Well, I like to think that there's three main things you can do from a military perspective in space. Historically, you can communicate, you can take images, and you can analyze spectrum or signals.

[00:06:24]And the first two have long since been commercialized. You know, first by companies in the in the communications domain, and then folks in the electrooptical, but increasingly the synthetic aperture radar domain. But no one had ever commercialized signals intelligence. It's always been done by governments. And now Hawkeye 360 is the first and we're an extension of that commercialization trend.

[00:06:43]>> Yeah. You talked about um communicating images. What was the third?

[00:06:46]>> Signals intelligence.

[00:06:47]>> Signals intelligence. U what part of this I guess all three are they equal as far as your business and also what leads the revenue story? I mean you must have government contracts and things like that, right? We focus exclusively on signals intelligence and I like to think we're the best in the world at collecting RF data, analyzing it and converting into actionable intelligence for our products customers, but we also have exceptional relationships with imagers, uh, folks who take pictures from space. And in fact, our satellites can tip and cue and communicate back and forth with other space-based modalities to improve the value of the intelligence that we collect. I like how you said upwards of 30 satellites, but you can't reveal. You know, it's natural. You know, he could tell me, but then he would have to kill me. It's wonderful to see you. It's Thank you so much for being with us. And everybody can watch Hawk, the ticker symbol, and John, you and your team. Congratulations. Thank you so much for being with us. Uh John Saraphini, thank you so much. Of Hawkeye 360. Welcome to the New York Stock Exchange.