Thursday, 1 August 2024, Bengaluru, India
GalaxEye is a space tech startup that raised $6.5 million in a series A funding round led by VC firm Mela Ventures. This funding round saw the participation of several new and existing investors including Speciale Invest. The drone tech startup Ideaforge, Faad Capital, Anicut Capital, Navam Capital, and Rainmatter Capital also participated in this ongoing funding round which is expected to make a final close by the end of September.
The company will use these fresh proceeds to launch its first satellite, scale up operations, enhance its platform, meet general corporate purposes, and increase its workforce. The company is developing a multi-sensor imaging satellite to offer geospatial analysis to the government, and defense industry. This will be the first satellite of this kind in the world. Apart, from this, the company also aims to develop a constellation of Indigenous micro-satellites with data fusion capabilities. The satellite was initially planned to launch in the September quarter of 2024 but it got delayed.
The CEO of GalaxEye, Suyash Singh told inc42 in an interview that this whole satellite launching process is very complex and requires a set of mechanics to fire at the same time together. The startup faced complications during launch like delays in receiving components and texting.
The Bengaluru company believes this investment will enable them to launch the satellite soon. The managing partners of Mela Ventures are also helping the company in its growth Journey. Earlier this month, the exchange filing mentioned that Galaxeye signed a deal with the drone tech startup IdeaForge to sell its stakes. The startup sold its series A compulsory convertible preference shares to raise Rs 8.28 crore. The space tech startup also gained access to INSPACE to launch its first satellite “DrishtiMission” this year.
GalaxEye also secured $3.5 million during its seed funding round in 2022. The CEO of GalaxEye mentioned that this investment would help the startup carry out its satellite launch mission and accelerate its technological growth. The company plansto grow itsteam and strengthen its technology. The startup also signed a contract with iDEX to develop a multi-sensor fusion processing system for Indian Air Force satellites capable of carrying payloads to 150 kg. The Space tech sector is expected to grow and cross the $77 billion mark in the next six years.
Conclusion:
GalaxEye is a space tech startup from Bengaluru that manufactures multi-sensor Earth Observation satellites. The startup secured 6.5 million USD in its ongoing series A funding round. The round saw the participation of the firm’s new and existing investors and was led by the venture capital company Mela Ventures. This space tech startup intends to use these fresh proceeds to launch its satellite and increase its workforce. The company previously collaborated with iDEX to develop a multi-sensor processing system capable of holding up to 150 kg weight for Indian Air Force satellites. The Space tech market is predicted to increase and reach 77 billion USD by 2030.