Indian spacetech startups raise $871 million so far led by Skyroot

Indian spacetech startups raise $871 million so far led by Skyroot

Mumbai: The fledgling spacetech startup ecosystem in the country has witnessed investments of $871 million from external venture capital till now, a data intelligence platform said

The funding has been received by 285 companies across 241 funding rounds, as per the data updated till July by Tracxn Technologies.

Skyroot, which created a record by launching the country’s maiden privately developed small-lift launch vehicle ‘Vikram-1’ recently, has raised the highest sums at $150 million, it said.

The Hyderabad-based company is also India’s first spacetech unicorn, or a venture commanding a valuation of over $1 billion, with a $1.1 billion value as per its last funding round in May this year, the data said.

The top-10 funded companies alone account for over 60 per cent of the total $871 million dollar in external funding raised by such companies till now.

Among the cities, spacetech startups in Bengaluru lead with $495 million raised across 106 funding rounds, the data said, adding that the IT capital is home to six of the top-10 funded startups.

Bengaluru-based Pixxel ($96 million), Agnikul Cosmos ($76 million) and Digantara ($67 million) follow Skyroot, it said.

Funding to such startups has been steadily rising over the years and Indian policymakers have undertaken reforms to promote private enterprises in the sector once controlled by the state-run Isro, it said, adding that the year 2021 saw $43 million in funding, which crossed $200 million