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Skyroot said in a press statement that this investment "further validates Skyroot's expertise in space technology and strengthens its capacity to tap into trillion-dollar space industry prospects."
Digital Desk: Indian space-tech firm Skyroot Aerospace has raised Rs 403 crore in Series-B financing round, in what the company has called the largest funding round ever in the Indian space-tech sector. The capital round was led by GIC, a leading global investment firm that has made several investments in India.
Skyroot stated in a news release on Saturday that the investment "further validates Skyroot's strengths in space technology and strengthens its capacity to tap into trillion-dollar space business prospects." The company intends to meet the growing demand for small satellites in the international market.
The additional funds will be used to strengthen the company's world-class space engineering staff, which presently numbers around 200 people with combined expertise of over a thousand years in the rocket industry.
Skyroot is the first startup to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to share facilities and expertise. The corporation is in charge of the country's first privately developed space launch vehicles.
The flagship Vikram series of launch vehicles is named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the pioneer of India's space program. Vikram Series rockets have an all-carbon-fibre structure and can launch up to 800 kg of payloads into low-Earth orbit (LEO).
Mayank Rawat, managing director of GIC India Direct Investment Group, will join Skyroot's Board as a result of the funding. "The business has already achieved significant milestones in the development of its commercial Space launch vehicles." Skyroot's marquee shareholder base has grown to include Myntra and CultFit founder Mukesh Bansal, Greenko Group founders (Anil Chalamalasetty and Mahesh Kolli), Solar Industries India Limited, Google board member Ram Shriram's Sherpalo Ventures, Neeraj Arora (former WhatsApp Global Business Chief), Wami Capital, and others from previous funding rounds, according to a press release.
Skyroot, which was founded only four years ago, has successfully built and tested India's first privately created cryogenic, hypergolic-liquid, and solid fuel-based rocket engines; the R&D and production activities make substantial use of modern composite and 3D-printing technology.
"We are delighted to have one of the world's greatest institutional investors join us as a long-term partner in our objective to "Open Space for All." This financing puts us on a hyper-growth trajectory by funding all of our initial developmental launches and allowing us to construct infrastructure to meet the high launch cadence demanded by our satellite clients. Our goal is to become the go-to destination for inexpensive and dependable small satellite launches, as well as a provider of best-in-class rocket launch services." said Skyroot Co-Founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana.
"We tested all three propulsion systems in our Vikram space launch vehicles, and we completed a full duration test of one of our rocket stages on May 22." This year, we also intend to launch a demonstration into orbit. This round will assist us in reaching a full-fledged commercial satellite launch scale within a year. "We have begun booking payload slots for our next launches," said Skyroot Co-Founder and COO Naga Bharath Daka.
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