Skyroot Aerospace raises $60M, becomes first spacetech unicorn from India

Hyderabad-headquartered spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace has raised $60 million in funding co-led by Sherpalo Ventures and GIC. Following the investment, the startup achieved a pre-money valuation of $1.1 billion, becoming India’s first spacetech unicorn.

The funding round also saw participation from the existing investors of Skyoot including Greenko Group and Arkam Ventures, along with funds managed by BlackRock, Playbook Partners, and Shanghvi Family Office.

Founded in 2018 by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, Skyroot Aerospace plans to utilise the newly-raised capital to support the commercial launch operations of its Vikram-1 rocket. The launch vehicle is designed to offer on-demand access to space for small satellite operators.

As part of the funding round, Ram Shriram, Founder of Sherpalo Ventures, will join Skyroot’s board. Shriram is widely known as one of the early investors in Google.

“We at Skyroot are excited about the upcoming Vikram-1 launch, India's first private orbital rocket, marking a significant milestone both for India and the global space sector. This investment signals confidence from some of the world's most reputed investors in Skyroot," said Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder & CEO, Skyroot Aerospace.

Skyroot launched Vikram-S in 2022 which made it the first privately built rocket to reach space. Now with Vikram-1, the spacetech startup is preparing to launch an orbital launch vehicle and is designed to deploy small satellites of up to 350 kilograms to low earth orbit.

“Access to space is one of the key challenges of our time. Skyroot is building the foundational infrastructure for that future with the best cost-to performance ratio in the orbital-launch industry, and what the team has achieved is remarkable. I am proud to deepen my partnership with them as they take their next giant leap,” said Ram Shriram, Founder & Managing Partner, Sherpalo Ventures.

The Vikram-1 is built with all carbon composite structure and powered by inhouse developed solid and liquid propulsion systems, which Skyoot claimed is engineered for rapid manufacturing and high launch cadence.

On Skyroot becoming a unicorn, Indian Space Association (ISpA) Director General Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt (retd.) said, “Skyroot Aerospace becoming India’s first space-tech unicorn marks a defining moment for the country’s private space ecosystem. This milestone is far more than a financial achievement; it is the symbolic coming-of-age of India’s space startup landscape and a powerful validation of the technological ingenuity, entrepreneurial ambition, and commercial agility that Indian companies now bring to the global space sector.”