Space startup Digantara on Tuesday announced that it has raised USD 10 million in Series A1 in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) with participation from Kalaari Capital.
The fund will be used to develop the startup’s Space-Mission Assurance Platform, which will map space debris orbiting the earth in a bid to ensure safer space operations. The fresh infusion of capital will allow Bengaluru-based Digantara to deploy the first phase of its space-based surveillance satellite constellation. The capital will also allow the company to accelerate the development of its downstream situational space awareness (SSA) service with the aim to offer them in a comprehensive manner by the second quarter of 2024.
This round of funding also includes participation from Global Brains, a Japan-based venture capital firm, Campus Fund, and the founders of IIFL Wealth, a company statement said. Digantara had also raised a seed round of USD 2.5 million from Kalaari Capital in 2021. “We are immensely grateful to have the support and unwavering belief of world-class investors who share our vision. Their backing is a testament to the transformative potential of our mission to make space sustainable,” Anirudh Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Digantara, said.
He said the startup will invest heavily in launching its space tech infrastructure to track previously unobservable objects and significantly increase data points. “This will empower stakeholders with comprehensive insights for efficient decision-making in an increasingly complex space environment,” Sharma said. Inadequate tracking capabilities of objects in Earth’s orbit has left 96 per cent of the one million objects that are currently in orbit untracked. These objects are large enough to cause damage to spacecraft but small enough to go undetected.
“We believe that this will lead to significant capability in the life cycle of managing satellites, which is a rapidly growing market,” Shailesh Lakhani, MD, Peak XV Partners, said. As part of its infrastructural endeavours, Digantara has commenced the development of India’s first commercial SSA optical observatory in Uttarakhand. This observatory will play a crucial role in enhancing the nation’s space and SSA capabilities. The firm also recently launched two missions that served as the space weather testbed.
