SPACETECH STARTUPS
Cosmoserve Space raises $6 million, sets up India's first space debris removal facility in Hyderabad
The facility comprises an orbital rendezvous and capture lab, a space robotics innovation lab, an ISO Class 8 satellite integration clean room and a mission simulation and control centre. It will enable the company to design, build and test robotic capture systems and develop capabilities for satellite servicing, including in-orbit repairs and refuelling.
OpenAI’s India user base doubles; Rapido GOV quadruples
Happy Tuesday! India has become ChatGPT’s largest market globally, with its user base doubling. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Pixxel's Indian ownership comes under scrutiny
Pixxel founder and chief executive Awais Ahmed in a blog post on X said the company remains “headquartered, owned, managed and controlled in India,” on Monday. Indian investors, including the founders, collectively hold the largest shareholding in the company, followed by investors from Singapore, the UK and the US, he added.
Pixxel cofounder Awais Ahmed rejects claims of US control, defends Indian credentials
Ahmed's post follows last week’s announcement of Pixxel Federal, a US subsidiary set up to serve American civilian, defence, and intelligence agencies. Ahmed said much of the recent criticism was in relation to that.
UP looks beyond Lucknow to boost startups, MSMEs as Aavishkaar, Intellecap partner with Invest UP
With more than 11.5 million MSMEs across the state, Uttar Pradesh is looking beyond its established startup centres to build a wider enterprise ecosystem. A new Invest UP partnership with Aavishkaar Foundation and Intellecap aims to take capital, advisory support and market connections closer to entrepreneurs across its districts.
Pixxel sets up US subsidiary to serve federal agencies
Pixxel in September raised $100 million (around Rs 945 crore) in the largest funding round in India’s spacetech sector, co-led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek and UK-based space investor Seraphim, ET reported.
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India's deeptech dream remains import dependent for critical components
The founder of a spacetech startup developing rockets said geopolitical tensions, including the Russia-Ukraine war, disrupted the supply of critical components. “Parts that were earlier available within weeks are now taking months to arrive, making it harder for startups to plan development and testing schedules,” the founder said, requesting anonymity.
Ethereal Exploration Guild unveils 150-acre rocket testing facility in Andhra Pradesh
Called 'The Anchorage', the facility is located in Space City, approximately 40 km from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR), India’s spaceport at Sriharikota. The facility is designed to bring rocket engine testing, manufacturing, stage qualification and refurbishment under one roof, supporting the company’s Razor Crest Mk 1 (RCM1) launch vehicle programme.
Skyroot eyes funding boost; MDR deferment cheers D2C brands
Happy Thursday! Skyroot is eyeing a big funding round as it gears up to scale rocket production. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
India first, orbit next: Skyroot eyes $300 million dual valuation plan
Skyroot is in talks with Indian family offices to raise $150 million at a valuation of $2.3-2.5 billion, while the company is seeking to mop up the same amount from global investors such as General Catalyst, General Atlantic and Silicon Valley venture fund Benchmark at a higher valuation of up to $3 billion, the people said.
Nilekani-backed Fundamentum's F2A raises Rs 3,000 crore for AI, deeptech fund
Fundamentum launched F2A in May 2026 as a dedicated frontier-tech investment platform and is led by Ashish Kumar, who moved from Fundamentum to head the new venture, alongside general partners Debraj Banerjee and Vivek Singla.
The ET Startup Awards 2026 special
Happy Monday! The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA) 2026 ceremony brought together the country’s top founders, investors, and policymakers in Bengaluru for a Friday evening of sharp insights and spirited conversations.
ET Startup Awards 2026: Deeptech wants government to step up as the first customer
At the discussion, titled ‘Building the Hard Stuff in India’, moderated by Accel partner Prashanth Prakash, founders from the space, semiconductor and healthtech sectors discussed the challenges of building capital-intensive technologies, developing domestic capabilities and taking complex products to market.
ETSA 2026: Over a decade on, India's startup story is only getting started
The 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA) captured this transition, reflecting an ecosystem that has moved beyond the race for scale to pursue technological depth, durable businesses and international markets.
ETSA 2026: Middle East tensions hit space supply chains, says Pixxel CTO Kshitij Khandelwal
Speaking at a panel discussion at the Bengaluru event, Khandelwal said the availability of components such as detectors had become a challenge, affecting the supply of equipment used in space and airborne sensing systems.
Winners of The ET Startup Awards 2026 to be feted today
Happy Friday! The who's who of the startup ecosystem will come together in Bengaluru today to honour the winners of The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA) 2026.
Startups will crown new champions today at 12th ET Startup Awards in Bengaluru
Union minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal will be the guest of honour at the event, which will bring together a strong mix of past and present ETSA winners and nominees, alongside leading voices from India’s new-economy landscape. Goyal is expected to speak about the government’s efforts to deepen and expand the country’s emerging business ecosystem.
Top tech players, policymakers come together on Deepverse platform to develop deeptech
The Startup Policy Forum has launched DeepVerse, a groundbreaking initiative designed to bolster India's deeptech sector. This platform connects startups, investors, academics, and policymakers, fostering collaboration across ten sub-sectors, including biotech, quantum technology, and electric vehicles. With backing from influential investors and tech leaders, DeepVerse aims to create a robust policy framework that supports deeptech innovation in India.
IMC 2026 to put DeepTech at centre of startup programme ASPIRE
India Mobile Congress 2026 will take place from October 7 to 10 at Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in New Delhi. The event will emphasise DeepTech and frontier technologies to support startups advancing from prototype to market. Over 500 startups and 300 venture capital firms are expected to participate, fostering connections through one-on-one meetings.
Palmonas' offline push; IndiaAI's GPU crunch
Happy Thursday! Demi-fine jewellery brand Palmonas is betting on offline stores, cofounder Pallavi Mohadikar said. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
SatLEO to launch India’s first thermal payload TAPAS-1 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9
SatLeo cofounder Urmil Bakhai described the payload as a “thermometer for planet Earth”, which the company is looking to use across agriculture, urban heat mapping, climate monitoring, disaster management, and infrastructure monitoring.
Space-tech’s missing link: The skilled talent powering India’s $100 billion ambition
Space job news: India's space industry is undergoing significant changes, with an increasing presence of private startups contributing to its growth. The government anticipates a boom in the sector, estimating it will reach $100 billion by 2040. However, companies are struggling to find skilled workers with specialized expertise required for various roles. Initiatives to bridge the skills gap include the introduction of SpaceTech courses and enhancing industry-academia collaborations.
TakeMe2Space to launch India’s first networked orbital data centre on SpaceX Falcon9 in 2028
The company has signed a Launch Service Agreement for its Generation-2 satellites, which will carry NVIDIA GPUs, 1,500 watts of computing capacity and 100 TB of storage each. The satellites will be connected through optical links, allowing them to work together rather than operate as standalone computing platforms.
IIT Madras-backed deeptech fund raises Rs 450 crore in first close, invests Rs 55 crore in four startups
The fund, which has a target corpus of Rs 1,000 crore including a Rs 400 crore greenshoe option, achieved its first close within three months of receiving approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Bhaskar Majumdar, managing partner, Unicorn India Ventures told ET.
Chennai industry meet draws over 300 companies ahead of Bengaluru Tech Summit
Industry leaders, investors and entrepreneurs from the city engaged with Karnataka officials on opportunities to collaborate through the summit.
Semicon India eyes chip deals; AI leaders seek slowdown
The government is pushing supply chain partnerships at Semicon India 2026 to help local players. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Mid-tier VCs scout deeptech deals; ETSA winner Varaha’s India play
Happy Monday! Sector-agnostic mid-tier venture capital investors are recaliberating focus on India's deeptech startups. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Japan emerges as a new market for Indian spacetech startups
Startups such as Digantara Industries, Bellatrix Aerospace, Xovian Aerospace, SatNxt, and Manastu Space are seeing growing interest from Japanese companies as the country looks to grow its space and defence capabilities.
ETtech Deals Digest: Pixxel, Nua lift weekly tech funding to $312 million, up 13% on-year
Late-stage deals accounted for 68.6% of the capital raised during the week, while early-stage rounds made up 28.3%. Seed-stage companies comprised 3.2% of the funding.
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