Poised for Take-off

Skyroot Aerospace’s successful fundraising of $51 million puts the spotlight back on the growth potential of India’s space-tech start-ups

- Manish Pant

SPACE TECHNOLOGY START-UP Skyroot Aerospace has recently created a flutter by raising $51 million, or ₹403 crore, in Series-B financing led by Singapore’s long-term investment fund GIC. This is the largest funding for a start-up in the segment. It will help the small launch vehicle or rocket manufacturer boost its capabilities and tap into the $469-billion global space economy.

Founded in 2018 by former ISRO engineers Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, Skyroot plans to cater to the burgeoning demand from the international small-satellite market. “This round puts us on a trajectory of hypergrowth by funding all of our initial developmental launches and enables building infrastructure to meet the high launch cadence required by our satellite customers,” says Chandana, also the CEO of the Hyderabad-headquartered firm.