Indian Angel Network Alpha Fund, Blue Ashva Capital, Silverneedle Ventures, BIG Global Investment JSC (BITEXCO Group), IvyCap Ventures, Mumbai Angels, and Blume Founders Fund have all contributed $15 million (roughly Rs 123 crore) to the space tech startup Dhruva Space’s Series A funding round.
In addition, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the Technology Development Board contributed a combined total of Rs 10 crore and Rs 14 crore to the fund raise.
As per the company’s press release, the funds will be utilized for the construction of new spacecraft manufacturing facilities, acquisitions of strategic businesses, and improvement of product offerings.
Dhruva Space was founded by Sanjay Nekkanti and Chaitanya Dora. In the past 24 months, the company has launched up to eight payloads, including the LEAP-TD mission on January 1, 2024, and the Thybolt satellite mission in November 2022.
The Hyderabad-based company serves both civilian and military clients globally and is active in the space, launch, and ground segments. It provides satellites as part of an integrated solution or separately as technological solutions to power space-based applications on Earth and beyond in conjunction with Earth Station(s) and Launch Services.
A number of space tech startups have raised a respectable amount of money in the last few years, including Agnikul Cosmos, Skyroot Aerospace, Pixxel, Bellatrix, GlaxEye, Dhruva, Vesta Space, Digantara, and InspeCity.
Peak XV Partners, formerly known as Sequoia Capital India, and Kalaari Capital led a $10 million Series A1 funding round for spacetech startup Digantara in June of last year. Pixxel raised $36 million from new investors, including Google, in a series B funding round that same month.
