Economics
This Startup Uses Night Lights to Forecast GDP
- Japan’s Nowcast will compile data in real time for investors
- Aims to start selling information to clients early next year
A satellite image of night-time lights in Asia.
Source: NOAA's National Geophysical Data CenterThis article is for subscribers only.
Nowcast Inc., a Japanese financial research and technology startup, has developed a product that estimates economic growth in real time by using satellite images of night-time lights.
Based on algorithms that examine changes in the intensity of illumination, as well as a range of published statistics including industrial production and trade, the Tokyo-based company can accurately forecast changes in gross domestic product, Chief Executive Officer Ryota Hayashi said in an interview.