Space tech startup Dhruva Space is looking to raise up to $50 million in its latest round of funding but may end up it with a less than half the amount in a tough market, two people familiar with the matter told Mint.
“The company wants to raise $50 million, but it’s likely to be a smaller round, sitting between $20-25 million,” said one of the people aware of the matter, on condition of anonymity. “They’re not being able to get a bite from larger institutional investors, but they have visibility of the same range of fundraising.”
Dhruva Space has so far raised $10.2 million of the targetted amount: $6 million in November and another $4.2 million in February. The monies came from its current investors, including Blue Ashva Capital, Indian Angel Network, and angel investor Pradeep Sinha.
“The company started the fundraising process about three months ago, but the process has not been smooth,” the second person said, declining to be named. “New investors on the captable haven't been finalized yet.”
Dhruva Space lost a few of its satellites on board the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) PSLV-C62 mission in January, after the mission failed to reach orbit. PSLV is short for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
Despite the fundraising challenges, the first person said the company was well-placed, at least in the satellite segment of space tech, given the number of companies emerging in the niche. “They’ve basically got everything ready and built already, they can take other companies’ payloads and will even find them a ride to space.”
To date, the company has raised $21.4 million across its seed and Series A rounds.
Queries sent to Dhruva Space and some its investors by email did not elicit a response till the time of publishing, save for one.
"The proposed increase is in line with the company’s long-term aim to increase capacity to serve both domestic and international clients while growing the integrated space engineering skills, which include developing satellite platforms, integrating launches, and building ground infrastructure," Indian Angel Network Group said on email.
It added that Dhruva Space is in talks with additional institutional investors and that the "fundraising effort effort is proceeding according to their goals, and they are committed to enlisting partners that can provide both financial and long-term strategic benefit."
General deeptech investor sentiment in the space tech industry has been to look for companies solving niche problems, rather than full-stack players that do manufacturing, launch services, and ground-based data analytics. Broadly, investors are looking for companies across a few main areas: earth observation, space domain awareness, space situational awareness, and in-orbit and in-space services.
The company’s last significant fundraise was a $15 million Series A round in 2024, which saw participation from IvyCap Ventures, Silverneedle Ventures, Mumbai Angels, Blue Ashva Capital, Indian Angel Network, Primarc Pecan, DSP Mutual Fund and more, according to Tracxn, a startup data intelligence platform.
Dhruva Space was founded in 2012 by Sanjay Nekkanti, Chaitanya Dora Surapureddy, Abhay Egoor and Krishna Teja Penamakuru, making it one of the early players in the country’s private space industry. The company is a full-stack player, offering space engineering solutions, satellite platforms and launch services. Its clients include commercial, academic and government entities.
The startup’s fundraising comes at a time when investor sentiment on space has become bullish. Last year alone, the sector raised $276 million across 33 deals, more than the $262 million across 28 deals for the previous two years combined, according to data from Venture Intelligence. Recent prominent funding rounds in the last six months include space surveillance startup Digantara's $50 million fundraise and launch vehicle company Agnikul Cosmos’ $17.5 million raise, which valued the company at $500 million.
Even so, despite the enthusiasm, investors are wary of companies that cannot demonstrate product-market fit and a viable go-to-market strategy. So, while deal-making intensity and valuations are creeping up, diligence remains key for deeptech investors.