Space startup Agnikul raises ₹150 crore Series C round as new investors crowd in
Aerospace startup Agnikul expands ₹150 crore in the Series C round after an earlier plan to raise it to $50 million failed to attract enough investor interest, two people familiar with the matter told Mint.
“This is a separate fundraising from the $50 million the company has been trying to raise since last year,” said the first of the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Both rounds took place in parallel but an existing investor put in a term sheet for a lower amount,” the person cited above said. “The $50 million round did not materialize because there was no demand or investor appetite at the time.”
As part of the current round, new investors Advenza Global Ltd and Atharva Green Ecotech Pvt Ltd invested ₹30 crore each earlier this month, according to filings with the ministry of corporate affairs. Agnikul also grew ₹$7 billion in debt financing from Pratithi Investments, according to Crunchbase.
With the new capital, Agnikul’s total endowment total has reached nearly $58 million since its founding in 2017.
Chennai-based Agnikul, which develops and launches small satellite launch vehicles, last raised $26.7 million in a Series B round in 2023 from Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, Artha Venture Fund, Artha Select Fund and Mayfield India.
However, Celesta Capital, the lead investor in the previous fundraising campaign, is not participating in the current round.
“The company has received a lot of interest from family offices and corporate venture capital funds offering to put larger checks,” the second person said. “But some are waiting on the sidelines for the company to be launched into orbit before coming to invest.”
Mint He sent questions to Agnikul and the story will be updated when they respond.
Financing momentum is increasing
Deeptech in India is seeing a rise in investments in aerospace, space technology, defence, manufacturing and even robotics. Earlier this month, SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd, an arm of the Small Industries Development Bank of India, had its first close. ₹ ₹1,005 crore for its 12th fund, Antariksh Venture Capital Fund, which focuses on making space technology investments.
Space tech startups emerging from India include hyperspectral satellite imaging company Pixxel, aerospace manufacturer and commercial launch service provider Agnikul Cosmos, small satellite manufacturer Bellatrix Aerospace and imaging satellite company GalaxEye.
This year deeptech has seen larger mainstream funds coming in to support deeptech companies despite longer gestation periods. Funds like Peak XV Partners, Accel and Elevation Capital are writing checks to more deeptech companies this year.
Accel alone has closed four deals so far this year; these include a $3 million seed investment in micro gas turbine company Nabhdrishti Aerospace, a $10 million Series A in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) manufacturer Sarla Aviation, and composites manufacturer Fabheads. It also led Scimplify’s $40 million Series B round.
