Skyroot becomes India’s first spacetech unicorn ahead of Vikram-1 launch
HYDERABAD: Skyroot Aerospace, which is preparing to launch India’s first private orbital rocket Vikram-1, has become the country’s first spacetech unicorn after raising around $60 million (₹568 crore) in its second pre-Series C funding round. The funding values the Hyderabad-based startup at $1.1 billion.
With the latest round, Skyroot also becomes Hyderabad’s second unicorn after Darwinbox, which achieved the milestone in 2022.
The funding round was led by existing investors Sherpalo Ventures and GIC. Meanwhile, new investors included Epiq Capital-backed BlackRock-managed funds, Playbook Partners and the Shanghvi family office. Existing investors such as Greenko Group founders and Arkam Ventures also participated.
Skyroot said Sherpalo founder Ram Shriram, an early investor in the company and a board member at Alphabet Inc., will join the startup’s board after the funding round.
As a result of the latest investment, Skyroot’s total funding has crossed $160 million (₹1,515 crore).
Plans for monthly rocket launches
Skyroot founder Pawan Kumar Chandana said the company plans to scale up operations at its Infinity campus in Hyderabad. The startup aims to manufacture one rocket every month.
“As we prepare for the Vikram-1 launch, India’s first private orbital rocket mission, this investment reflects global investor confidence in India’s growing private space ecosystem,” Chandana said.
He added that the company plans two to three test launches before starting commercial operations next year.
In addition, Chandana said the fresh capital would help increase launch frequency for Vikram-1, expand manufacturing capacity and accelerate development of Vikram-2. The upcoming rocket is a one-tonne-class launch vehicle with an advanced cryogenic upper stage.
Skyroot became India’s first private company to send a rocket to space when it launched the Vikram-S suborbital rocket in November 2022.
Investors optimistic about private space sector
Ram Shriram said affordable access to space remains a major global challenge. According to him, Skyroot is building launch infrastructure focused on cost-effective orbital missions.
The company is positioning itself as a provider of customised satellite launches. It plans to use smaller rockets capable of placing payloads in specialised orbits.
Lt Gen AK Bhatt, director general of the Indian Space Association, called the unicorn milestone a defining moment for India’s private space sector.
“This is more than a financial milestone. It validates the technological capability and commercial potential of Indian space startups in the global market,” Bhatt said.
He further added that the achievement would strengthen investor confidence and support India’s target of securing a 10% share of the global space economy by 2033.
The latest funding round comes more than two years after Skyroot raised $27.5 million in its first pre-Series C round led by Singapore-based investment firm Temasek. Earlier, in September 2022, the company had raised $51 million (around ₹403 crore), bringing Temasek onto its cap table.
Skyroot was founded in 2018 by former Indian Space Research Organisation scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka. Since then, the startup has focused on developing on-demand launch vehicles for small satellites.
