Skyroot Aerospace raises $60 million at $1.1 billion valuation ahead of launch
Skyroot Aerospace has raised $60 million at a $1.1 billion valuation, becoming India's first spacetech unicorn, backed by Singapore's GIC and billionaire Ram Shriram's venture firm. The raise comes weeks before the planned launch of Vikram-1, India's first privately developed orbital rocket.
Seven-year-old Skyroot Aerospace on Thursday became the first Indian space startup to be valued at $1 billion or more, making it the first startup with a unicorn status in the country’s nascent space industry.
The startup announced it had raised $60 million at a valuation of $1.1 billion prior to the funding. The round was co-led by early Google investor Ram Shriram's venture capital firm, Sherpalo Ventures, and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC.
New investors in the round include funds managed by BlackRock, Playbook Partners, Shanghvi Family Office, and others. Existing investors that also participated in the round include the founders of Greenko Group and Arkam Ventures.
In an interview on the sidelines of the announcement, Pawan Kumar Chandana, cofounder and chief executive of the company, said that the move marked a step toward generating commercial revenue at a steady scale, starting by the end of December 2027.
“Our first two or three launches will be trial orbital launches. From the third or fourth launch onward, we expect to start generating commercial revenue. We don’t have a specific timeline yet, but we do plan to start generating revenue by the end of December 2027,” he said.
The latest funding round brought Skyroot’s total capital raised to $160 million over seven years of operations, making it India’s most-funded private space firm. It is part of a rising crop of private space startups in India, including surveillance satellite imagery maker Pixxel, space data firm Digantara, and fellow rocket manufacturer Agnikul Cosmos. The nascent crop has seen steady growth since the space sector was opened to private-sector participation in 2020.
For now, Skyroot remains without operating revenue, a factor that its founder said will change soon.
Countdown to Vikram-1
The fresh capital will be invested in three key areas, Chandana said: scaling infrastructure, such as storage and integration, to support more frequent launches; building more rockets; and completing development of Vikram-2, its next satellite launch vehicle.
The second series of Vikram rockets is expected to complete development by 2027. Skyroot expects to launch Vikram-1 within the next two months. “We’ll get to know the exact date in the coming weeks,” Chandana said.
The funding indicates the increase in Indian space-tech investment. Venture capital flows into the sector hit $276 million across 33 deals in 2025, according to data from Venture Intelligence, more than the total of the previous two years, as investors moved beyond launch vehicles into surveillance, space mapping and satellite services.
Chandana, on this note, said that the company is not under any investor pressure to start generating revenue or to hit a milestone of frequent launches within a stipulated timeline. He, however, said there would be “enough room” for multiple rocket manufacturers and operators.
“The dedicated launch market is less than $2 billion, but there are very few players globally. I think that's where there is a really attractive market—the global launch market is almost $40-50 billion annually,” he said.
Skyroot's main business is expected to come from foreign companies looking to get their own satellites into orbit. Close to 80% of its revenue is expected to come from outside the country, with India making up the balance.
It's not just Skyroot that is expected to put a vehicle into orbit soon. Agnikul Cosmos, which raised $17.5 million in November at a $500 million valuation, is also expected to launch sometime this year. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd-made Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, the rocket initially developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), could also launch this year—Isro’s annual report pegs it at five launches this fiscal, Mint reported last week.
Chandana said that this is a good sign. “There are only two launch players operating regularly, SpaceX and Rocket Lab. Getting to that level of regular operation itself is highly complex. If an Indian company gets to that, fantastic. If multiple Indian companies can do it, then it’s a win for the overall space industry and, of course, for India.”
About the Authors
Rwit is a correspondent at Mint covering India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem and the venture capital and private equity firms that back them. Sitting out of Bengaluru, he writes on the new-age tech businesses that the city and the rest of the country seems to continuously be birthing.<br><br> While Rwit’s interests lie in covering the new wave of deeptech, AI, SaaS and consumer tech businesses, he’ll write on consumer brands and fintech (if someone repeatedly explains these sectors to him).<br><br> When he’s not scrolling through the Indian startup forums on Reddit, Rwit is usually trying to figure out early signs of what’s to come next in the ecosystem. As a result, he’s been early to spot trends like VCs becoming more active in backing deeptech, funding bottlenecks for agentic AI startups and a potential revival in edtech through AI. <br><br>Prior to his ongoing stint at Mint, Rwit worked at NDTV Profit as a social media producer while also working on his own stories for the TV channel after he graduated from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. <br><br>When he’s not working on stories, he can be found trying to figure out where he should go to eat next in Bengaluru, or what his next tattoo should look like. If you see him in the wild, you should ask him how he pronounces his name. He’s definitely not tired of being asked about it.
Shouvik has been tracking the rise and shifts of India’s technology ecosystem for over a decade, across print, broadcast and web-first platforms. He's been a tinkerer of machines and PCs since childhood, a habit he was thrilled to convert into his profession. This has led him to fascinating experiences of technologies around the world, which is what keeps him hooked to his job.<br><br>Shouvik likes to believe that he is one of the few technology journalists in India who can also code. He has also been writing about the rise of AI well before it became a household name, and has met some of the most fascinating people over the years through his work.<br><br>Shouvik writes about AI, Big Tech, data centres, electronics, semiconductors, cybersecurity, gaming, cryptocurrencies, and consumer technologies. He is most fond of the stories he has written during his time here at Mint, for which he also writes 'Transformer', a weekly technology newsletter, and hosts 'Techcetra', a weekly technology podcast.<br><br>Outside of work, Shouvik spends most of his time with Pixel, whom he believes is the world's best dog. He is also an avid reader, a toy collector, a gamer and a frequent traveller.
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