[Update] Spacetech Startup Skyroot Raises $51 Mn From GIC, Others

Spacetech Startup Skyroot Raises $50 Mn+ From GIC, Others

SUMMARY

As per the filings, Skyroot allotted 106 equity shares and 1,15,938 Series B Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares at an issued price of INR 34,728.39 apiece

Including the current fundraising, it has secured a total of $67.3 Mn funding to date

It also expanded its ESOP pool to 15,223 stock options from 12,223 options after the dissolution of its advisory stock option pool (ASOP)

Update| September 2, 6:58 PM

Skyroot has officially announced the $51 Mn funding round from GIC.

Original Story| September 2 , 6:15 PM

Spacetech startup Skyroot has raised $50.3 Mn (INR 403 Cr) in its Series B funding round led by GIC. Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC infused capital in Skyroot Aerospace through Waverly Pte Ltd.

Asset management firm LNM India has also participated in the funding round.

According to the regulatory filings, Skyroot allotted 106 equity shares and 1,15,938 Series B Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) at an issue price of INR 34,728.39 apiece.

Thus, a total of 1,16,044 shares were issued to Waverly and LNM India for $50.3 Mn (INR 403 Cr).

Including the current fundraising, Skyroot has secured a total of $67.3 Mn funding to date.

Besides, Skyroot also expanded its ESOP pool to 15,223 stock options from 12,223 options after the dissolution of its advisory stock option pool (ASOP).

The development comes after Skyroot secured $4.5 Mn in a bridge fundraising round earlier this year.

Set up in 2018 by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, Skyroot primarily builds space launch vehicles. It claims to employ over 100 rocket propulsion engineers.

Skyroot further asserts to be the first startup that inked an MoU with the ISRO to utilise its expertise as well as facilities. Earlier on, it built a cryogenic engine test stand and examined the engine at Solar Industries’ rocket propulsion test facility.

In January, Skyroot bagged $4.5 Mn bridge funding from investors–Sherpalo Ventures, Wami Capital, Neeraj Arora and Amit Singhal. Prior to this, it bagged $11 Mn in Series A funding round and $1.5 Mn in seed funding.

Its cap table includes Greenko founders, Solar Industries India, WorldQuant Ventures, Graph Ventures and Meraki Labs, among others

In 2020, Skyroot was acclaimed for becoming the first homegrown startup that test-fired an upper-stage rocket engine called Kalam-5.

In the space sector, it faces competition from the likes of Dhruva Space, SatSure and Pixxel.

According to an Inc42 analysis, the Indian spacetech industry is likely to offer a market opportunity of $77 Bn by 2030.