At 21 years old, the Argentine Franco Rodríguez Viau founded a startup that detects forest fires in real time. It combines satellite images with climate, elevation and soil data, processed by its own algorithms. Trained with business mentors, he met Tim Draper and Alexis Ohanian, traveled to Richard Branson’s island and today gives talks around the world.
Satellites on Fire has established itself as one of the most relevant emerging services in forest protection in Latin America. With an investment of $850,000 and support from MIT, the UN Green Climate Fund and Cornell Universityhas already operated in 70 Argentine fire stations and collaborated with regional forestry and energy leaders.
“In 2020 I had friends and family who lost houses due to fires in Argentina. I decided to do something to change this reality and I became involved in the world of firefighters and brigade members, trying to understand why these fires were not being received on time. In 4 months we developed the app with a group of friends and then we improved it,” says Rodríguez Viau.
The platform integrates satellite images, climate data, topography and vegetation coverage to locate outbreaks in minutes. Internal evaluations register alerts on average 35 minutes before than NASA FIRMS (the Space Agency site that offers a similar service) which improves the response in critical stages.
“Geostationary satellites operate at a greater distance from the Earth, but deliver constant information every ten minutes. Those in low orbit, on the other hand, pass less frequently, although they provide images of much higher resolution,” explains Franco.
Currently he coordinates a team of 17 experts with experience in NASA, the European Space Agency, machine learning consultancies for European universities and conservation projects. At the same time, it develops its own AI models that anticipate fires with high precision.
“We created a scheme that sends warnings via WhatsApp as soon as the fire starts: we detect it with satellites and our own AI model. In addition, we share a video that shows where the fire could spread in the next few hours.”
This solid core allowed the system to scale to multiple countries and strengthen the predictive component, one of the differentiating pieces of the project. Propagation simulations became a key resource to define access routes, prioritize critical areas and anticipate risk scenarios during the first hours of a fire.
“In the last three months he intervened in the response to 400 events contributing to reducing the mortality of brigade members and improving the security of rural communities in different countries in the region,” indicates the young man.
The business model operates under a 100% software scheme with a freemium modality. This approach allowed us to validate fires in the field, build the largest database of real fires in Latin America, and generate verifiable impact metrics.
The growth of the platform reinforces the goal of turning it into a global reference. The roadmap foresees drone integration to verify outbreaks on the ground and then assist in suppression in the first five minutes. It seeks to expand protected area, strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities and reduce human and environmental losses with accurate data in real time.
The takeoff of the company was also reflected in its numbers: it reached a valuation close to million dollars and strongly expanded its staff. The next stage aims to add more specialists in AI and satellite technology to accelerate the evolution of the product.
The need to protect ecosystems
This work is led by Franco Rodríguez Viau, who founded the company based on a personal conviction: “the need to protect ecosystems that are rapidly degrading and to offer accessible technological tools for first response teams.”
The vision that sustains the project is based on a simple principle: every effective solution is born from a concrete and urgent problem. “In regions where fires are usually detected by isolated calls from remote areas, accessing early data can drastically modify the outcome.”
Satellites on Fire aims to fill this technological gap with agile, predictive and accessible tools for teams that operate under extreme conditions. Among its clients are Quilmes, Genneia, Forestal Argentina and Pomera Madera.
Today the platform is moving towards agreements with local governments, environmental organizations and industries with high forest risk. Each addition expands the reach of the system and strengthens the database that feeds the predictive models.
The case of Rodríguez Viau reflects a widespread phenomenon in new generations of technological entrepreneurs: hybrid training, an accelerated pace of learning and the decision to orient knowledge towards socio-environmental challenges on a continental scale.
His academic journey combines technical training in programming, a virtual MBA and engineering studies in AI, which he paused to focus fully on the expansion of the project. This path links international accelerators, global mentoring and a vocation to convert learning into concrete tools.
A turning point was the scholarship in Switzerland and shortly after, his selection among the 20 winners – among more than 1,500 applicants – of Alexis Ohanian’s 776 Foundation, which awarded him a grant of $100,000. That funding not only validated the project, but accelerated the initial development of the platform.
“I spent four months in Switzerland with Start Fellowship, an accelerator that brings together 35 Latin Americans every year. There we worked with global mentors, we studied at the University of St. Gallen and received funds to promote the startup. That stage gave me training, contacts and scale.”
The acceleration process connected it with a global network of specialists who provided key insights to adjust each front of the project.
The keys to a good entrepreneur
“I spoke with more than 100 mentors from leading companies: finance, operations, legal, sales. I learned a lot and also how to take them off the pedestal: no one brings a magic answer. The solution appears along the way, with guidance, but without shortcuts.”
Starting a successful business requires solving a specific need for a real group of people, says Viau. “Companies that prosper do so because they offered useful answers to everyday problems.”
His international journey combined dissemination and high-level networks: he participated in global conferences and selective programs for entrepreneurs, where he gained direct contact with leaders of the ecosystem.
“I gave talks to audiences of more than 190 countrieseven in stadiums like the Movistar Arena. Along the way I met Tim Draper, Tim Ferriss and Alexis Ohanian; Then I joined Meet the Drapers and Maverick Next, which brings together a few entrepreneurs each year.”
On that tour, Viau had the opportunity to meet Richard Branson, one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the world. The British businessman and philanthropist, creator of the Virgin group, took his companies from music to aviation and technology, and became a symbol of audacity and breaking the corporate mold.
“I had the opportunity to visit Richard Branson on his private island. The man inspires for his authenticity and for challenging what is established. Every time I doubt, I think of that energy of going against the script, of daring to try, fail and try again. It reminds me that one’s own path outweighs the approval of others.”