ISRO shared resources and knowledge to fuel India’s spacetech startups: Chairman S Somanath

To boost India's spacetech prowess, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) has shared resources, provided guidance, and technical knowhow with many homegrown spacetech startups, Chairman S Somanath revealed at the 15th edition of YourStory’s flagship conference TechSparks 2024.

Somanath said that the central space agency has provided support to startups, including Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos, among others. “Some of them [space startups] require internal facilities. For example, Skyroot and Agnikul wanted to build rockets. They wanted their launchpads to be built in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh]. And they wanted fuel, ground support, [sic] even our people's advice and guidance to build all of that,” he said.

“So [during] the entire launch and simulation time, we were personally present to help them understand [the process]. We are spending time without any money or remuneration from their side,” he added. 

Chennai-based Agnikul Cosmos operates out of the National Center for Combustion R&D at IIT-Madras. Founded by Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM in 2017, the startup provides a dedicated launch vehicle for smaller satellites at a lower cost. 

In October 2023, Agnikul Cosmos raised $26.7 million in a Series B round led by Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, Artha Venture Fund and Artha Select Fund, along with participation from existing investors such as pi Ventures, Speciale Invest, among others. It has so far secured $40 million in funding.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad-based spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace raised $27.5 million (Rs 225 crore) led by Singapore's state investment firm Temasek Holdings, bringing the company's overall funding to $95 million. 

In March, the company test-fired stage-2 of the rocket at the propulsion testbed of the ISRO at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. 

The global space economy is valued at $630 billion in 2024, and is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2040. The Indian space economy, meanwhile, is valued at $8.4 billion and is growing at a CAGR of 4%.