Max Polyakov
Макс Поляков
Personal details
Born
Maksym Valeriyovych Polyakov
Максим Валерійович Поляков

(1977-06-30) 30 June 1977
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
Children4
ResidenceScotland
EducationOles Honchar Dnipro National University
OccupationBusinessman and philanthropist
Managing Partner of Noosphere Ventures
co-owner of Firefly Aerospace

Maksym "Max" Polyakov (born 30 June 1977) is an international technology entrepreneur,[1] investor, economist, and philanthropist. Polyakov is a general partner in the venture fund Noosphere Ventures Partners LP which invests in a number of technology companies over the global scale.[2][3][4]

Polyakov has a business philosophy with deep scientific roots. He follows the idea of Ukrainian scientist Volodymyr Vernadsky who claimed that knowledge is the driving force behind every further positive development on Earth.[5][6] Polyakov believes that space-based technologies can and should be used to solve problems on Earth.[7]

Education

Maksym "Max" Polyakov was born in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. In high school, Polyakov won competitions in math and physics, then scholarships. In 2001, Polyakov graduated from Zaporizhzhia State Medical University as an obstetrician-gynecologist.[1][8]

In 2013, Polyakov was awarded a Ph.D. in International Economics and in 2019, earned a Doctor of Economic Sciences.[9]

He is a co-author of philosophical and scientific works on noospherology, semiotics, and innovation in economics.[10]

Max Polyakov owns 18 patents.[11]

Business

While studying at the university, Polyakov launched his first software outsourcing business.[1] Following the success of his first venture, he set up a number of successful tech businesses.

Polyakov co-founded the IDE Group which included the companies Cupid, Murka, HitDynamics and Maxymiser in 2005.[12][13][14][15][16] Polyakov took Cupid public on the London Stock Exchange in 2010 and became the first Ukrainian entrepreneur to have a tech company listed on the London Stock Exchange.[17][18][19] In 2015, Polyakov's startup Maxymiser was bought by the American corporation Oracle.[15][20] Blackstone bought out Murka project group in 2019.[21][22][23][24][25]

Currently, Max focuses on the space industry in an attempt to build a vertically integrated holding company type through Noosphere Ventures asset management firm. The goal is to unite a whole cycle of space mission development to enable fast and affordable access to space.[6]

Noosphere Ventures

In 2014, Polyakov founded Noosphere Ventures, an international asset management firm dedicated to the development of space technology.[26] The same year, Polyakov created Noosphere Engineering School (NES).[27] Noosphere Ventures hosted the 2016 FAI World Championships for Space Models in Ukraine.[28] Noosphere Ventures portfolio includes D-Orbit,[29] a global provider of space logistic services, and electric rocket propulsion developer Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS).[30] In 2018, the SETS team was awarded the Seal of Excellence Certificate by the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.[31] Flight Control, liquid rocket engines manufacturer, also belongs to Noosphere Ventures portfolio.[32]

EOS Data Analytics

In 2015, Polyakov's Noosphere Ventures created EOS Data Analytics (EOSDA), a global provider of AI-powered satellite imagery analytics and developer of remote sensing solutions.[33] Four years later, EOSDA implemented a project on satellite-based monitoring of agricultural land use in cooperation with the World Bank and the EU.[34][35]

EOS Data Analytics participates in the GoldenEye project within the EU’s Horizon 2020 initiative aimed[36][37] to improve safety, environmental impact, and mine profitability by creating a platform that combines Earth observation technologies with on-site sensing.[38] The project targets five mining sites across Europe in (Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Kosovo and Romania). In October 2021, Dragonfly Aerospace has announced an agreement with EOS Data Analytics (EOSDA) to use its new 100 kg class µDragonfly satellite bus. The agreement will see EOSDA use the satellite bus as the platform for the two DragonEye electro-optical imagers.[39]

On 3 January 2023, EOS SAT-1, the initial satellite of the company's EOS SAT constellation, the first agri-focused satellite swarm launched by a remote sensing company, was delivered into a low Earth orbit by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida.[40] The satellite was built by the space imaging systems technology provider Dragonfly Aerospace and equipped with two high-resolution DragonEye cameras.

Firefly Aerospace

Polyakov's Noosphere Ventures acquired assets of Firefly Space Systems and later launched a new company keeping the original Firefly brand in 2017.[15][1][41] By May 2018, a Firefly research and development center was opened in Polyakov's hometown of Dnipro, Ukraine.[42] In November of the same year, Firefly Aerospace entered the list of companies selected by NASA for its lunar exploration program with a total budget of $2.6 billion.[43][44][45]

In 2019, the U.S. Air Force selected Firefly to participate in the Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4) along with Rocketdyne.[46][47][48] In 2021, NASA awarded Firefly a $93.3 million to deliver a suite of 10 science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon in 2023.[49][50][51] Firefly The team successfully performed pre-flight of their alpha rocket in September 2020.[52][53] On 4 May 2021, CBInsights listed Firefly Aerospace as a 'unicorn' startup having achieved $1 billion valuation.[54] Firefly expected to make a second Alpha launch attempt in early 2022, but the flight is delayed.[55] In August 2021, Firefly Aerospace has hired Lauren Lyons, a former SpaceX and Blue Origin engineer, as its new chief operating officer.[56] Astra, the small launch company that recently went public, has signed a roughly $30 million deal for the rights to manufacture Firefly Aerospace's Reaver rocket engines in-house.[57] In October 2021, Firefly Aerospace announced that it has completed NASA's Critical Design Review (CDR) of its Blue Ghost lunar lander.[58][59][60]

On 3 September 2021, a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle Firefly Alpha exploded (because of deliberate mission termination) a few minutes after launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.[61][62] On 1 October 2022, Firefly Alpha successfully reached orbit for the first time.[63] Firefly Aerospace had raised $75 million to prepare for this launch.[64]

On 24 February 2022, it was announced that Polyakov and his company Noosphere will sell their stake in Firefly to AE Industrial Partners.[65]

Dragonfly Aerospace

In April 2021, Max Polyakov bought majority stake in Dragonfly Aerospace, a South African satellite engineering company.[66][30] Dragonfly team has more than 20 years of experience in imaging satellites and payloads, mainly through the high-resolution cameras that it builds. Dragonfly develops satellite cameras for Earth Observing Systems Data Analytics.[30] The products of Dragonfly include CubeSat cameras (Gecko, Mantis, Chameleon and Caiman) with resolution up to 5 meters and cameras for microsatellites (HR-250 and Raptor). The company currently focuses on providing cameras to Europe and other markets outside the United States. Customers include satellite makers NanoAvionics and Loft Orbital, as well as Indian hyper spectral imaging startup Pixxel.[67][68][69] The company said in October that it will build two satellite cameras for EOSDA's first satellite, a crop-monitoring spacecraft slated to launch in 2022.[30]

Philanthropy

In 2016, Polyakov created the non-profit organization Noosphere Association, which organizes STEM events such as BestRoboFest robotics festival and the Noosphere Vernadsky Challenge engineering startup competition.[70][71] Noosphere Ventures hosted the 2016 FAI World Championships for Space Models in Ukraine.[72] On 7 June 2021, Noosphere Ventures co-sponsored the 11th Annual Space Foundation Student Art Contest.[73] Since 2017, Noosphere Association has sponsored and supported the NASA Space Apps Challenge in Dnipro.[74][75]

In March 2022, Polyakov along with EOS Data Analytics appealed to the global remote sensing firms and organizations to provide real-time SAR data to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine with actionable intelligence.[76] As the war in Ukraine unfolded, he donated over ₴100 million to the "Army of drones"[77] project and a significant donation to Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation. In August 2022 when a Ukrainian charity organization decided to purchase an SAR satellite for the crowdfunded money to cater for the needs of the military, they turned to Max Polyakov for his expertise in the space industry. The purchased satellite has already strongly helped in the battlefield, according to Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.[78][79]

Controversies

A two-year study by the fact-checking web site "Snopes" led to an investigation by the BBC and Kyiv Post to show that before working in the space industry, Max Polyakov made his fortune from dating sites.[80][81][82][83][84] Noosphere Ventures released a statement refuting Snopes investigation claiming that Max Polyakov had left the company in 2012 and connecting publication of the material with a lawsuit filed by former Firefly Systems investors.[85] In December 2021, the U.S. government requested Max Polyakov to sell his stake in the rocket company Firefly Aerospace Inc. due to national security concerns, despite all the precautionary measures taken by the management earlier and no prior questions to ownership.[86] On 24 February 2022, it was announced that Polyakov and his company Noosphere will sell their stake in Firefly to AE Industrial Partners.[65]

Personal life

Polyakov moved to Silicon Valley where he co-founded the venture capital fund Noosphere Venture Partners in 2012.[87] In 2021, Polyakov moved to Edinburgh, Scotland.[88] In one of the interviews, Polyakov was described as "A lightning-fast talker with a rugby player’s build and a salesman’s disposition."[89]

Family

Max Polyakov is married with four children.[89]

Polyakov's father Valeriy wrote operating system software for Soviet space rockets. His mother developed hardware systems meant to make the rockets reusable.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Vance, Ashlee (22 September 2020). "A Rocket Mogul Is Preparing to Launch a Union of U.S. and Soviet Technology". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "EOS Data Analytics to launch a satellite with dragonfly multispectral imagers in 2022". Geospatial World. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  3. ↑ "Max Polyakov: An Entrepreneur and Philanthropist". 19 July 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Cronin, Mike (20 March 2020). "From Bankrupt to Blasting Off". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Vernadsky Challenge - The Engineering Startup Competition organized by the Noosphere Association". vernadskychallenge.com. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  6. 1 2 Rainbow, Jason (21 April 2021). "Noosphere Ventures aims to build an integrated space powerhouse: Q&A with managing partner Max Polyakov". SpaceNews. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "Where does space junk come from – and how do we clean it up?". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  8. ↑ ""Сынок, ракетчиком ты не станешь": история Максима Полякова и его космического стартапа Firefly". Экономическая правда (in Russian). Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "Max Polyakov | Noosphere". noosphereglobal.com. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "Академия Google". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "Maxym Polyakov Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  12. ↑ Northrop, Alasdair (6 October 2011). "THE BIG PROFILE- Bill Dobbie of Cupid: Boom time for online dating boss". Business Insider. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Cupid buys Uniform Dating for £7m". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  14. ↑ Hesse, Jason (2 March 2010). "EasyDate: taking online dating to the next level". realbusiness.co.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 Berger, Eric (11 February 2019). "After a remarkable resurrection, Firefly may reach space in 2019". Ars Technica. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  16. ↑ "Easydate plans name change after Cupid.com buy, easyJet spat". 13 December 2010 – via www.reuters.com.
  17. ↑ Saunders, John (3 November 2022). "Space entrepreneurs of the world: Where does the funding stem from?". London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
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  19. ↑ "Украинский предприниматель спас ракетную компанию Firefly: рассказываем ее историю". AIN.UA (in Russian). 16 February 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
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  24. ↑ Михайлова, Лера (19 March 2019). "Американская Blackstone Group запланировала купить украинского разработчика онлайн-казино Murka — Финансы на vc.ru". vc.ru. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  25. ↑ "Макс Поляков продает разработчика онлайн-казино Murka. Сумма сделки может достигать $100 млн". MC.today, украинский онлайн-журнал о предпринимательстве (in Russian). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
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  27. ↑ "Max Polyakov | Noosphere Ventures". 30 June 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  28. ↑ "The 2016 FAI World Championships for Space Models | Noosphere". noosphereglobal.com. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  29. ↑ Sheldon, John (20 December 2019). "Italy's D-Orbit Announces Investment Round Led By Seraphim Capital VC Fund". SpaceWatch.Global. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  30. 1 2 3 4 Rainbow, Jason (28 April 2021). "Max Polyakov buys Dragonfly Aerospace to fill out integrated space strategy". SpaceNews. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  31. ↑ "European Commission Certificate". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  32. ↑ "Noosphere Ventures Partners — Forbes.ua". forbes.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  33. ↑ "Noosphere Venture campaign begins coming together with radar constellation". SpaceNews. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  34. ↑ "В Україні почали моніторити із космосу використання сільгоспземель". www.ukrinform.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  35. ↑ "В Україні супутники тепер будуть моніторити стан сільськогосподарських земель". Mind.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  36. ↑ "Ukrainian EOS team receives €300,000 grant from European Union |". 27 August 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  37. ↑ "Ukrainian EOS team receives a grant of €300k from European Commission". AIN.UA. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  38. ↑ "Earth observation and Earth GNSS data acquisition and processing platform for safe, sustainable and cost-efficient mining operations".
  39. ↑ Faleti, Joshua (27 October 2021). "Dragonfly Aerospace to Deliver the First Imaging Satellite for EOSDA". Space in Africa. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  40. ↑ "Replay! SpaceX launches 1st rocket of 2023 with EOS SAT-1 - Space.com and EOSDA Broadcast". Youtube. VideoFromSpace.
  41. ↑ O'Kane, Sean (12 February 2020). "Space startup's founders linked to shady dating website ring". The Verge. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
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  43. ↑ Daines, Gary (29 November 2018). "Firefly Aerospace Concept for Launch Vehicle with Moon Lander". NASA. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  44. ↑ "Компанія українця потрапила в програму NASA з бюджетом понад 2,6 мільярда доларів". Економічна правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  45. ↑ "NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services". NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  46. ↑ "Украинская компания Firefly будет использовать разработки Rocketdyne для своих ракет - Техно 24". 24 Канал. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
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  48. ↑ "US Air Force Selects Firefly for Orbital Services Program-4 Contract - Via Satellite -". Via Satellite. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  49. ↑ Hautaluoma, Grey (4 February 2021). "NASA Selects Firefly Aerospace for Artemis Commercial Moon Delivery in 2023".
  50. ↑ "Firefly awarded NASA contract for CLPS Lunar Lander". SpaceFlight Insider. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
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  54. ↑ "The Complete List Of Unicorn Companies".
  55. ↑ Evers, Michael Sheetz,Andrew (20 November 2021). "Take a look inside Firefly Space, as the rocket builder prepares for a second orbital launch attempt". CNBC. Retrieved 23 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  57. ↑ Roulette, Joey (21 September 2021). "Launch startups Astra and Firefly ink secret rocket engine IP deal". The Verge. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  58. ↑ "Firefly Aerospace to build moon lander by Sept 2023". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  59. ↑ "Firefly Aerospace is One Step Closer to Landing on the Moon". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
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  61. ↑ "Firefly Alpha explodes during first launch". SpaceNews. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  62. ↑ Roulette, Joey (3 September 2021). "Firefly's Alpha rocket detonated by Space Force during first launch". The Verge. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  63. ↑ Mike Wall (1 October 2022). "Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket reaches orbit for 1st time". Space.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  64. ↑ "Max Polyakov's "Firefly" failed to launch a rocket into space". Economic Truth (in Ukrainian). 3 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  65. 1 2 Foust, Jeff (24 February 2022). "AE Industrial Partners to acquire stake in Firefly from Noosphere".
  66. ↑ "Dr. Max Polyakov Purchases Majority Stake in Dragonfly Aerospace | Noosphere Ventures". 27 April 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  67. ↑ "International consortium to launch tiny hyperspectral camera". SpaceNews. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  68. ↑ "Dragonfly to deliver an imager for Loft Orbital". Geospatial World. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  69. ↑ "Dragonfly and Pixxel Sign Agreement for High Resolution Imagers for Pixxel's Satellite Constellation". PR.com. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  70. ↑ "Max Polyakov Has Held A Technofest For 25,000 Visitors - Irish Tech News". 26 June 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  71. ↑ "Максим Поляков и Дмитрий Шоломко запустили конкурс для стартапов с призовым фондом в миллион гривен". AIN.UA (in Russian). 10 March 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  72. ↑ "Кубок Янгеля определил финальный состав сборной Украины на Чемпионате мира | FRMS". frms.ua. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  73. ↑ Space Foundation Editorial Team (7 June 2021). "SPACE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE 11TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ART CONTEST". Space Foundation.
  74. ↑ "NASA Space Apps Challenge Hosted by Max Polyakov and Noosphere Ventures Help To Look at the Pale Blue Dot from a different perspective - North East Connected". 30 August 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  75. ↑ "Ukrainian team FireWay wins NASA Space Apps Challenge 2020". AIN Capital. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  76. ↑ "EOS Data Analytics issues urgent plea for imagery of Ukraine". SpaceNews. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  77. ↑ "Nearly UAH 200 Million Was Raised in the First 3 Days of the Army of Drones Fundraiser". u24.gov.ua. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  78. ↑ Cole, Brendon (26 November 2022). "Ukraine's 'People's Satellite' Helping Expose Russian Equipment: Kyiv". Newsweek. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  79. ↑ "Over 60 units of enemy equipment detected in first two days of operation of ICEYE satellite acquired by Ukrainians – Reznikov". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
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  82. ↑ Nazarii Chornyi (3 June 2021). "'Ukrainian Elon Mask' — what we know so far about Maxym Polyakov". Bukvy (bykvu.com). Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  83. ↑ "Online dating firm Cupid plc sees share value plunge". BBC. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  84. ↑ Svitlana Tuchynska (15 March 2013). "Deceptive Love: Agency hires women to encourage men to pay". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  85. ↑ "Original Firefly Shareholders Sue Firefly's Markusic, Polyakov Alleging Fraud – Parabolic Arc". Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  86. ↑ Vance, Ashlee (29 December 2021). "U.S. Seeks to Oust Ukrainian Owner of Texas Rocket Startup Firefly". Bloomberg News.
  87. ↑ "Як у Дніпрі розробляють деталі космічних ракет – розмова з директором Firefly Aerospace Україна". 24 Канал (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  88. ↑ Berger, Eric (5 February 2021). "Rocket Report: SpaceX sets new reuse record, Astra valued at $2.1 billion". Ars Technica. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  89. 1 2 Peleschuk, Dan (12 March 2020). "Setting Cosmic Ambitions for Ukraine". OZY. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
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