Space tech startup Skyroot Aerospace has announced that it has raised US$51 million (Rs 430 crore) in its Series B round. The funding has been led by Singapore-based GIC, whose managing director Mayank Rawat will join Skyroot’s board.

Skyroot

Startups are using modern means to expand their engineering teams. The company currently employs about 200 people, the company said.

The Hyderabad-based startup claimed in its release to the press that it was the most significant and lucrative funding round ever in India’s space technology sector. By comparison, several high-profile companies like Chennai-based Agnikul Cosmos have raised $11 million in Series A funding, while Dhruva Aerospace has secured $2.7 million.

Former ISRO engineers Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharat Daka founded the startup in 2018 with the aim of meeting the growing demand of the international small satellite market.

Pawan Kumar Chandana said, “This round will fund all of our early development launches and enable us to build the infrastructure to meet the high launch frequencies demanded by our satellite customers. In January 2022, it has also raised $4.5 million in a Series B bridge round led by early Google investor Ram Shriram through venture capital firm Sherpalo Ventures.

Rothschild & Co India was the financial advisor for this round of funding.

Simultaneously with funding, the startup is working on the country’s first privately developed rocket. The Vikram series rockets are built with all-carbon fiber and are capable of carrying payloads of up to 800 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).