New Delhi, Nov 24: Space startup Agnikul Cosmos on Saturday said it has raised Rs 150 crore in a fresh funding round at over half-a-billion dollar valuation, which would be used to build resusable launch vehicles.IIT-Chennai incubated Agnikul demonstrated a sub-orbital rocket launch last year and is planning to place small satellites into the low earth orbit using its 3D printed Agnibaan rocket next year.
The startup is also working on the recovery of the lower stage of the launch vehicle, which could be re-used for subsequent missions.
“This fund raise allows us to work on such missions while also focusing on scaling launch frequency and building for the world, from India,” Srinath Ravichandran, CEO and Co-founder, AgniKul Cosmos, said.
The fund raising round saw participation from family offices and institutional investors such as Advenza Global Limited, Atharva Green Ecotech LLP, HDFC Bank, Artha Select Fund, Prathithi Ventures, and 100X.VC.
The company will deploy this capital in scaling production units of aerospace and rocket components and advance its stage-recovery programme.
A portion of the funds is earmarked for the development of Agnikul’s upcoming integrated space campus on the 350 acres allocated by the Tamil Nadu government, which will be used for building end-to-end facilities for manufacturing and testing of launch vehicle systems, a company statement said.
Agnikul will also use the fresh funds to strengthen its reusable launch architecture — building on its recently-granted patent that extends the operational life of upper stages.