Skyroot team.
Credit: Special arrangement
Hyderabad: India's private space-tech company, Skyroot Aerospace has raised an additional $ 27.5 million, equivalent to Rs 225 cr, in a pre-Series C funding round led by Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore.
Skyroot plans to utilize the newly acquired capital to drive its next phase of growth; increased investments in infrastructure, reinforcement of its technology leadership, attraction of top-tier talent, and the enhancement of its launch frequency and capabilities, all while maintaining a lean and agile core team. The present capital infusion builds upon the company's previous raise in 2022, bringing its total funding to $ 95 million, the largest ever for an Indian Space-tech startup.
Skyroot Aerospace, headquartered in Hyderabad, India, stands as the country's leading private space launch vehicle company, founded in 2018 by space scientists-turned-space entrepreneurs, Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka.
In November 2022, it successfully launched India's and South Asia's first, privately developed rocket, marking Indian private space sector's entry into the space launch market.
“As we prepare for the launch of our second mission early next year, this new funding will enable us to accelerate our upcoming launches planned over the next two years. India's successful moon landing mission has reignited global interest in India's space prowess. As a key player in India's private space industry, we are amplifying our capabilities to tap into the expanding global satellite launch market to emerge as a favourite ‘go-to’ choice in space launch services for small satellites,” said Skyroot, co-founder and CEO, Pawan Kumar Chandana on Monday.
Skyroot is poised to transform the space launch capabilities of the country with its Vikram series of rockets, specially designed to deploy small and medium-sized satellites into space efficiently and reliably, he added.
Skyroot COO Bharath Daka, expressed his enthusiasm, stating “We are thrilled to welcome a globally renowned investor like Temasek putting their trust and joining us in this exhilarating phase of our journey. This fund-raise will help us to invest in the enhancement of our production infrastructure, R&D and team strength that will enable us to achieve higher launch cadence in the years to come.”
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