GalaxEye raises $6.5M in funding from Mela Ventures and others

The financing round also saw the participation of existing investors: Speciale Invest, ideaForge, Rainmatter Capital and Navam Capital.

GalaxEye said this is an ongoing funding round and the startup plans to close it by September this year.

The space technology startup will use the capital to launch its first satellite, Drishti Mission, by mid-2025 and expand its team

Bengaluru-based space technology startup GalaxEye has raised $6.5 million (around Rs 55 crore) in its ongoing Series A funding round led by venture capital firm Mela Ventures and existing investor Speciale Invest.

The funding round also included listed drone technology startup ideaForge, Rainmatter Capital, Navam Capital, Faad Capital and Anicut Capital.

The startup said it plans to close the funding round by September this year, but did not disclose the amount it wants to raise.

Founded in 2021 by Suyash Singh, Denil Chawda, Kishan Thakkar, Pranit Mehta, and Rakshit Bhatt, GalaxEye claims to be building the world’s first multi-sensor Earth observation satellite. It also aims to create a constellation of indigenous micro-satellites with data fusion capabilities.

GalaxEye CEO Suyash Singh told Inc42 that the capital raised will help the startup launch its first satellite, Drishti Mission, by mid-2025.

Initially, the startup planned to launch its first satellite into space September quarter 2023. Responding to a question about the delay, Singh said, “Launching a satellite is a very complicated procedure and requires a whole set of mechanisms to launch it at the right time. In our case, we have seen complications at all stages of launch, like delays in component deliveries from suppliers, in testing and others. The funding will help us execute the launch soon enough.”

In addition to the launch, the startup also plans to allocate funds to expand the team.

Singh said the experience of Mela Ventures managing partners Parthasarathy NS and Krishnakumar Natarajan, who previously founded listed IT firm Mindtree, will help GalaxEye grow.

Commenting on the investment, Natarajan said, “GalaxEye’s MSI/SAR technology can help in defense, shipping, insurance and agriculture with real-time visibility and significantly reduce response time. We look forward to being a part of this journey and are excited to see the Drishti Mission satellite reach space.”

Earlier this month, Inc42 reported that ideaForge acquired a minority stake in GalaxEye, incubated by IIT Madras, for INR 8.28 Cr. The investment was part of the ongoing Series A funding round.

Notably, ideaForge also signed a deal with GalaxEye in September last year to jointly develop an unmanned aerial vehicle with Foliage Penetration Radar. Singh said the product is currently in the final stages of development and will be launched soon.

While GalaxEye’s primary goal is to build a profitable satellite launch business, the company is also considering other industries and sectors that could benefit from its data-as-a-service solutions.

Singh added that the startup is closely monitoring the government’s efforts to promote public-private partnerships in the domestic space technology sector.

Earlier this year, GalaxEye also signed an agreement with Innovations for Defense Excellence (iDEX) to build multi-sensor fusion processing system for miniature satellites that would be capable of carrying multiple payloads of up to 150 kg for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Before this round of financing GalaxEye raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round in 2022. It is one of many homegrown space technology startups like Agnikul Cosmos, Dhruva, Pixxel that have emerged in the last few years. These startups are eyeing a slice of the growing space technology market in the country, which is expected to become more than $77 billion opportunity by 2030.