Spacetech startup Agnikul raised $26.7 M Series B funding from Celesta Capital, others
Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, Artha Venture Fund, Artha Select Fund, and Mayfield India contributed to the Series B round of funding for the spacetech startup AgniKul Cosmos, which totalled Rs 200 crore ($26.7 million). Existing investors including Pi Ventures and Speciale Invest joined the round as well.
The Chennai-based startup has now secured $40 million in funding, including a $11 million Series A round in March 2021.
According to a press release from the company, Agnikul intends to use the funds to scale up its current technology in order to make it commercially viable. It also plans to invest in important facilities like mobile launchpads and other test rigs.
“…Our focus is shifting from singular rocket launches to a strategic approach aimed at scaling. We’re considering how to scale not just for one or a few rocket launches, but for the next 25 or even 50 launches,” said Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of Agnikul.
Agnikul, a company founded in 2017, is developing Agnibaan, India’s first private small satellite rocket, which can launch payloads of up to 100 kg into low-Earth orbits of up to 700 km. The vehicle has the ability to configure its plug-and-play engine configuration to precisely meet the requirements of the mission.
Ravichandran reportedly holds the largest stake in the business—14%—according to the data intelligence startup platform TheKredible. For a complete list of Skyroot’s shareholdings, visit TheKredible.
Agnikul did not provide its most recent valuation, but according to estimates from TheKredible, its Series B round valuation was in the neighborhood of $180 million.
One of Agnikul’s main rivals, Skyroot, has raised $67 million to date and was most recently valued at $165 million in September 2022. In addition to these rivals, Agnikul Cosmos faces competition from Pixxel, Bellatrix, GlaxEye, Dhruva, Vesta Space, Digantara, and InspeCity.
In contrast to Pixxel, which raised $36 million in a Series B round from new investors including Google, Digantara raised $10 million in Series A1 funding in June from Peak XV Partners and Kalaari Capital. In August and September, respectively, Satsure and PierSight raised their new round.
Agnikul has not yet submitted its FY23 financial information, but as of FY22, when it recorded negligible revenue and a loss of Rs 9 crore, the startup was in the pre-revenue stage. Skyroot, a five-year-old company, also reported revenues of Rs 40 lakh and losses of Rs 55 crore in FY23.
