Spacetech startup Agnikul Cosmos raises $17M

Spacetech startup Agnikul Cosmos has raised $17 million (around Rs 150 crore) in a round that saw participation from family offices and marquee institutional investors. The Chennai-based startup is now valued at $500 million.

Institutional investors include Advenza Global Limited, Atharva Green Ecotech LLP, HDFC Bank, Artha Select Fund, Prathithi Ventures, and 100X.VC.

Existing investor Arun Kumar, Managing Partner, Celesta Capital, said, “This is a strong endorsement of their (Agnikul's) continued progress and promising global potential. We remain very excited about the prospects of Agnikul, and to continue supporting them as early investors and board members.

"They are at the right place at the right time, poised to meet the enormous unmet demand for low earth orbit satellites both globally and domestically, and pursuing this market with a singularly innovative approach. Agnikul is a standout example of the cutting edge deep tech innovation we see in India today.”

According to an official statement released by the spacetech company, Agnikul will use the funds to scale its production units of aerospace and rocket components, and advance its stage-recovery programme. A part of the funds will be used for the development of its upcoming space campus on the 350-acres allocated by the Tamil Nadu Government to build end-to-end facilities for manufacturing and testing of launch vehicle systems.

"Given our previous successful controlled ascent launch that allowed us to demonstrate all our patented technologies with ISRO and IN-SPACe support, we have now been able to scale our strategy to include lower stage recovery and upper stage extension, features that will make the unit economics of launch services much better.

"This fund raise allows us to work on such missions while also focusing on scaling launch frequency and building for the world, from India,“ said Srinath Ravichandran, CEO and Co-founder, AgniKul Cosmos.

Agnikul had recently announced its large-format metal additive manufacturing unit which will allow it to use 3D-printing for multiple sub systems beyond just its engines. The startup is building the world's first single-piece 3D-printed rocket engines and end-to-end space transportation solutions.

Agnikul, which has customers across India, Middle East, and Australia, will also use the funds to strengthen its reusable launch architecture, building on its recently-granted patent that extends the operational life of upper stages.

Moin SPM, Co-founder & COO of Agnikul, said, “With growing demand and more than a dozen customers eager to launch with us, scaling our operational depth was the natural next step. The indigenous facility which is planned near the new upcoming launchpad of India will equip us to serve these missions on schedule and with the responsiveness the market expects.”