Skyroot plans to raise funding of up to $200 million to become India’s first space-tech unicorn

Space-tech startup Skyroot is planning to raise $150–200 million (about Rs 1,800 crore), which would place the company in the unicorn club with a valuation close to $1 billion, according to a report by The Economic Times.

The Hyderabad-based startup provides on-demand satellite launch services. The funding is expected to support the next phase of the company’s expansion, the report added.

Global investors like GIC and Temasek are among the notable names holding equity in Skyroot. The startup has teamed up with Kotak Mahindra Capital to advise it on the minority stake sale.

In the upcoming funding round, the startup is planning to issue fresh shares to investors without diluting the stakes of existing investors.

If Skyroot is able to get through the funding round, it will be the first Indian space-tech startup to be valued at $1 billion. After the company’s latest funding round in 2023, it was valued at $519 million, which was over four times more than the valuation it had in the previous year at $163 million. During the 2023 funding round, Temasek and GIC had invested $27.5 million.

The space-tech startup was founded by former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka in 2018. The founders own 26% of the company. Skyroot is among over 300 space-tech startups in the country. So far, no space-tech startup in the country has achieved unicorn status.

The Indian aerospace industry is growing at a fast pace after the government recently allowed up to 100% foreign direct investment. According to some analyst reports, the share of the Indian space economy is expected to rise to 8% of the global market by 2033. The global space economy may expand to $44 billion by the same year.

According to media reports, funding of space and defence tech startups in India has increased from $76 million in 2021 to as high as $358 million in 2025.