IIT-Madras-incubated space tech startup GalaxEye Space announced on December 15 that it had raised a $3.5 million seed round led by deep tech venture capital firm Speciale Invest, with investors including Zerodha’s founder Nithin Kamath and EaseMyTrip’s CEO Prashant Pitti.

Other investors participating in the round included Artha India Ventures, Veda VC, Anicut Capital, Upsparks, and a consortium of entrepreneurs, including Founder and CEO of Tracxn Abhishek Goyal and Partner at Celesta Capital Ganapathy Subramaniam.

With the new funding, the startup aims to recruit talent and accelerate the launch of its multi-sensor satellites for Earth observation.

Suyash Singh, co-founder and CEO of GalaxEye Space, told the Media that the funding will also help the startup plan to launch satellites by the end of 2023 and then commercialise its operations.

The funding comes as India’s space tech industry gains momentum as Hyderabad-based space tech startup Skyroot Aerospace becomes the country’s first private company to launch into space.

Another Hyderabad-based startup, Dhruva Space, recently launched its Thybolt satellite aboard ISRO’s PSLV-C54.

The GalaxEye Space was last year patented by Drishti, a camera that fuses multiple sensors to produce precise images. It aims to disrupt the Earth observation industry by creating unique datasets using technology integrated into satellites.

These datasets can detect changes in various infrastructures, respond to natural disasters, and more.

“Next year is critical for us as we aspire to go into space with our satellites and become an industry leader in multi-sensor imaging,” Singh said, adding that they will seek additional funding later.

GalaxEye was founded in 2020 by five IIT Madras students who previously collaborated as part of the IIT-M student competition team Invention Hyperloop, the only Asian finalist to qualify in the SpaceX Hyperloop Competition 2019.

It raised an unrevealed amount in a pre-seed round led by Speciale Invest in May 2021. The investment helps in the proof-of-concept, prototyping and demonstration of its Drishti sensor.

So far, the startup says it has partnerships and commercial contracts with organisations in the space technology ecosystem, including US-based space software provider Antaris. The company has also submitted a proposal to IN-SPACe seeking support from ISRO.