Spacetech Startup Agnikul Bags INR 200 Cr To Accelerate Commercial Space Launches

Spacetech startup Agnikul Cosmos has secured INR 200 Cr ($26.7 Mn) in its Series B funding round. The round saw participation from Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, Artha Venture Fund and Artha Select Fund, and Mayfield India. 

Existing investors pi Ventures, Speciale Invest, Mayfield India and others also participated in the round. 

The startup said it will use the funding to accelerate the commercialisation of its existing technologies and invest more in key facilities such as mobile launchpads and other test rigs to cater to growing customer requirements.

Including the latest fundraise, the spacetech startup has secured $40 Mn in investments till date.

Commenting on the announcement, cofounder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran said, “With this capital, we will continue to drive our technology forward, building facilities and testing systems that we need to deliver a reliable product for our customers.” 

Established in 2017 by Ravichandran and Moin SPM, Agnikul is an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras incubated spacetech startup that is building the country’s first private small satellite rocket, Agnibaan. 

The rocket will be capable of carrying up to 100 kg of payload to low Earth orbits up to 700 km with the engine configured with plug-and-play mode to match the mission’s needs precisely. 

Agnikul’s focus continues to be on streamlining the manufacturing process and tapping into a growing list of enterprises globally. Ravichandran told Inc42 that Agnikul is looking to cater to clients planning to launch small satellites to reduce their dependence on expensive large launch vehicles. 

Being one of the first startups in the country to have signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Agnikul has been granted access to the space agency’s expertise and facilities under the IN-SPACe initiative. 

Though there are no upcoming projects with ISRO in the pipeline, Agnikul will look forward to working with it in future, said Ravichandran.

For the time being, Agnikul is preparing for the launch of its first vehicle Agnibaan SOrTeD (SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator) from its own launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. 

The startup also claims to have manufactured the world’s first single-piece 3D printed engine, which was fully conceived and manufactured in India. After test-firing it in 2021, Agnikul secured a patent for the engine from the Indian government in 2022. 

Ravichandran told Inc42 that the startup has focussed its energies on 3D printed engines to streamline the process of manufacturing and components assembly, and to keep the manufacturing process asset-light. 

It is pertinent to note that last year Agnikul inaugurated a factory to enable 3D printing of rocket engines, which is currently capable of making eight such engines per month. It also became the first company globally to design a rocket engine that can be 3D printed as a single, seamless piece of hardware. 

The startup competes with the likes of homegrown players such as Bellatrix Aerospace, GalaxEye, Dhruva Space, Pixxel, among others. 

According to Inc42’s Indian Spacetech Startup Landscape & Market Opportunity Report 2023, the spacetech sector is estimated to reach a market size of $77 Bn by 2030, growing at a 26% CAGR.