With the ever increasing number of new-age space tech companies focused on earth-imaging satellite constellations (and an equally high number of satellites in space), Indian space tech startup GalaxEye, is throwing its hat in the ring. The startup has just announced a $3.5Mn seed round for the same, led by deep tech VC firm Speciale Invest. The new round also had participation from investors including Artha India Ventures, Veda VC, Anicut Capital, Upsparks and a consortium of entrepreneurs including Nithin Kamath (Founder/CEO of Zerodha), Prashant Pitti (Founder/CEO of EaseMyTrip), Abhishek Goyal (Founder/CEO of Tracxn) and Ganpathy Subramaniam (Partner at Celesta Capital)
GalaxEye is banking on its proprietary data fusion technology, to differentiate itself from the plethora of other players, including Musk’s SpaceX, Planet Labs among others. The data fusion tech enables satellite constellations to perform all-weather imaging at all times without atmospheric interference typical of today’s single sensor satellites. GalaxEye’s technology will enable the production of images with extremely high resolution via a small satellite constellation that, once fully operational, will provide global coverage in under 12 hours.
“We are truly the first Indian space start-up incorporated in India to build an imaging satellite and we are committed to accelerating technological innovation in India for the world,” stated Suyash Singh, Co-founder & CEO, GalaxEye Space. “I believe this is possible today with the enormous support available from ISRO, government and our global partners.”
The global commercial satellite imaging market is estimated to garner US$ 12.4 Billion while exhibiting a 7.9% CAGR by 2032, according to an FMI report. And while that number may look small, it doesn’t capture security spend by governments across the states, as modern armed forces are now increasingly dependent on satellite-powered navigations and imaging, to keep track of enemy lines. Additionally, most government space agencies have now offloaded earth imaging work to private spacetech players, while shifting focus to more ambitious missions, such as inter-planetary explorations.
GalaxEye however, will face stiff global competition, specially from Planet Labs, the market leader in this segment.
“Next year is crucial for us, as we aspire to reach space with our satellite and become the leader in multi-sensor imaging for the industry, “added Singh. “We will be seeking an additional round of funding of the order of $15-25 M in 2023 to add more satellites to our constellation as our business grows. We are grateful for the immense support and guidance from the mentors, investors, industry, and customers received so far. It’s an exciting time for GalaxEye.”
The company previously raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round led by Speciale Invest in May 2021. This investment facilitated completing Proof of Concept and Prototype Development and Demonstration.
GalaxEye has already signed partnerships and commercial contracts with several leading organizations in the space tech ecosystem, including US-based space software provider Antaris.
