Spacetech Startup PierSight Bags $6 Mn To Develop Satellites For Maritime Surveillance

PierSight, a satellite-based surveillance provider for the maritime industry, has secured $6 Mn in its seed funding round, co-led by Alpha Wave Ventures and Elevation Capital, with participation from its existing investor, Techstars. 

The Ahmedabad-based spacetech startup aims to use the fresh funds to procure and test critical hardware, expand its team, and design and launch demo and operational satellites.

Founded in 2023 by Gaurav Seth and Vinit Bansal, PierSight is building a constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) integrated satellite technology for persistent ocean monitoring. The startup claims that with the SAR and AIS integration, it will provide “eyes and ears” at sea, offering 30-minute interval monitoring capabilities to multiple sectors that rely on maritime intelligence, such as shipping, insurance, defence, coastguard, and oil and gas industry, among others.

“Illegal fishing causes direct losses of $24 Bn annually. Oil spills are difficult to monitor and combat, and are destroying delicate ecosystems. Terrorist infiltrations via sea are extremely hard to detect even for the most sophisticated of coastguards and naval forces. Persistent monitoring unlocks capabilities that weren’t previously available. Unlike traditional Earth observation solutions which are incremental, this is a step function change,” said Seth and Bansal in a joint statement.

The startup is focused on the design and launch of a demo satellite on ISRO’s PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) platform, along with the deployment of its first operational satellite. 

Speaking about its investment in the young spacetech startup, Navroz D Udwadia, cofounder of Alpha Wave Ventures, said that the most likeable thing about PierSight is the paradigm change that it can bring to the industry of surveillance. 

“If successful, this endeavour can set a new industry standard and catalyse global efforts for sustainable marine resources usage, better oceanic logistics infra and overall align perfectly with a future where technology, sustainability and efficiencies converge for the well-being of our oceans and nations,” said Udwadia. “The ability to do this while also being able to form a formidable moat of being the lowest cost operator in the broader sector is what excites us.” 

“Alpha Wave has been an early backer of SpaceX and our first space investment is a testament to our belief in the ability of the high-pedigreed duo of Gaurav and Vinit,” Udwadia added.

The funding round comes at a time when the Indian spacetech industry is booming, with more and more entrepreneurs and investors fuelling innovation in the sector. PierSight competes with the likes of GalaxEye and Pixxel. 

The startup said it has also received access to IN-SPACe’s (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre’s) labs for satellite development under the mentorship of Rajeev Jyoti, technical director at the nodal agency.

PierSight has also been a part of Techstars Space Accelerator program in the US, and earlier received funding from the latter.

Matt Kozlov, MD of Techstars Space Accelerator, said that in three months since its investment in PierSight, the startup’s pipeline of business both in the US and internationally has grown exponentially.

As per Inc42’s recent research report, India’s total spacetech market opportunity is expected to touch $77 Bn by 2030, growing at a 26% CAGR between 2023 and 2030. The maritime sector is expected to account for over $3.2 Bn.