Thesis / Theme 06 of 8

Space

Launch has been proven and priced beyond a seed cheque. The investable layer is one down: propulsion, sub-systems, ground segment and the data coming back.

$44B
target for India's space economy by 2033, from about $8 billion
IN-SPACe Decadal Vision
100%
foreign investment allowed in components on the automatic route
DPIIT, February 2024
₹1,000 Cr
government venture fund for space startups
Union Cabinet, 2024
$135M
first private earth-observation constellation contract, August 2025
Pixxel consortium and IN-SPACe

What we believe

India's private launch companies have done what ISRO did for decades at a fraction of the cost, and they are now valued accordingly. That is good for the sector but out of range for a first institutional cheque. The layer where our cheque size works is the supply chain: propulsion modules, attitude control, power systems, space-grade electronics, the ground stations that talk to satellites, and the analytics that turn images into decisions.

Demand changed in 2025. The government moved from building satellites to buying data from private constellations, starting with a $135 million earth-observation contract. Defence is the second buyer, through surveillance constellations and space-situational awareness. Both pay on schedules a startup can plan around.

India's share of the global space economyPercent

Source: IN-SPACe Decadal Vision and Strategy: $44 billion Indian space economy by 2033, 8 percent of the global market.

Foreign investment allowed on the automatic route in spaceCaps set in February 2024

Source: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, FDI policy amendment for the space sector, February 2024.

What must happen next

Flight heritage. A component that has flown is worth several times one that has not, and the certification path to get there is the defensible position. Ground infrastructure has to catch up with the number of satellites being launched. And the export question has to be answered: which Indian sub-systems can be sold to global primes without export-control friction.

What we look for

  • Propulsion and sub-systems with letters of intent from at least two launch or satellite customers.
  • Ground-segment-as-a-service with a path to positive unit economics at a few dozen customers.
  • Earth-observation analytics with India-specific ground truth that global platforms cannot replicate.
  • Companies that can reach first revenue on less than $20 million of capital.

What we pass on

Full launch vehicles and broadband constellations, where the seed window has closed. Data businesses without a proprietary sensor or dataset.