# Tom Barton

> Tom Barton is the CEO and co-founder of Antaris, a satellite software company founded in 2021. A former Planet Labs COO and Rackable Systems CEO, he took Rackable public in 2005 and has held leadership roles at Cygnus Solutions, Red Hat, Tintri and Diamanti. His work connects open-source software, cloud infrastructure and software-defined space missions.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at Antaris
- **Organizations:** Antaris, Planet Labs, Rackable Systems, Diamanti, Tintri, Canara/IntelliBatt, Cygnus Solutions, Red Hat, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Broken Arrow Venture Capital, McKinsey & Company
- **Education:** BA in History, Stanford University, BS in Industrial Engineering, Stanford University, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Took Rackable Systems public in 2005., Led Rackable as annual sales grew from about $25 million to $360 million., Helped build Planet Labs’ executive leadership team, including hiring CTO Karthik Govindhasamy.

## Career timeline

- **1990s** — Worked at McKinsey and held leadership roles at Cygnus Solutions and Red Hat.
- **1999–2002** — Worked at Lightspeed Venture Partners before returning to an operating role.
- **2002–2007** — CEO of Rackable Systems; appointed in December 2002 and served until April 2007.
- **2005** — Led Rackable Systems through its initial public offering.
- **2012–2013** — CEO of Canara/IntelliBatt, as listed in his public career history.
- **2014–2018** — Served as COO of Planet Labs, with responsibility for operations and leadership hiring.
- **2018** — Appointed CEO of Tintri in March; held the role for approximately three months.
- **2018–2021** — CEO of Diamanti, following his appointment in 2018.
- **2021** — Co-founded Antaris with Karthik Govindhasamy.
- **2023** — Antaris demonstration satellite JANUS-1 launched on February 10.
- **2026** — Antaris announced a Series A first close, Japanese business-development work and the creation of Aeonyx.

## Achievements

- Took Rackable Systems public in 2005.
- Led Rackable as annual sales grew from about $25 million to $360 million.
- Helped build Planet Labs’ executive leadership team, including hiring CTO Karthik Govindhasamy.
- Served on Planet leadership during large imaging-constellation deployments and its Terra Bella acquisition.
- Co-founded Antaris in 2021; its JANUS-1 demonstration satellite reached orbit in February 2023.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Antaris established Aeonyx for defense mission virtualization, led by CEO John Trionfo in Colorado Springs; Antaris Global continued international satellite work.
- **2026-07** — Appeared on Balerion Space’s July 13 podcast about software-defined satellite systems and full-mission virtualization.
- **2026-03** — Antaris announced the first close of a $28 million Series A led by WestWave Capital with Lockheed Martin Ventures participating.
- **2026-03** — Intralink announced a Japanese business-development program for Antaris; Barton cited more than 40 prior visits to Japan.
- **2026-02** — Antaris and SARsatX signed an MOA for an initial 16-satellite radar and optical constellation for Saudi Arabia.

## Links

- Website: https://www.antaris.space/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tkbarton/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tom-barton
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23