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India’s private space tech firms raise $871 million, Skyroot becomes first unicorn

India’s private space technology sector has raised about $871 million across 241 funding rounds and 285 companies as of July 2026, with Bengaluru leading with $495 million (₹4,752 crore).

The top 10 funded companies have collectively raised more than $548 million (₹5,261 crore) more than 60 per cent of total sector funding, led by Skyroot Aerospace at $150 million, according to a report by market intelligence platform Tracxn.

Skyroot became India’s first SpaceTech unicorn following a $50 million Series C round in May 2026, reaching a valuation above $1.1 billion. On July 18, 2026, Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 rocket reached a 450-km low Earth orbit (LEO) deploying four payloads and making India the third country after the US and China to achieve a privately developed orbital launch capability.

The launch came six years after India opened its space sector to private participation in 2020, the report said.

Other leading funded companies include Pixxel at $96 million, AgniKul Cosmos at $76 million, Digantara at $67 million, and Bellatrix Aerospace at $34 million.

Annual funding rose from $43 million across 12 rounds in 2021 to a record $200 million across 53 rounds in 2025, with $113 million raised across 24 rounds in the year to date in 2026. Five rounds — by Skyroot Aerospace, Digantara, EtherealX, Bellatrix Aerospace, and AgniKul Cosmos — accounted for $158 million, more than half of all capital deployed across 2025 and 2026, the report said.

Seed funding rises

Seed-stage funding rose to $62 million in 2025 from $7 million in 2022, while late-stage funding, which emerged for the first time in 2025 at $17 million, reached $53 million in the year to date in 2026. The investor base has widened from domestic venture capital firms and angel investors to include sovereign wealth funds and global institutional investors.

Bengaluru leads all hubs with $495 million, raised across 106 rounds, and is home to seven of the top 10 funded companies. Pixxel, the city’s largest funded company, accounts for nearly 19 per cent of Bengaluru’s total funds raised.

Hyderabad and Chennai are the next-largest hubs, with $205 million and $80 million respectively. Hyderabad’s funding is anchored by Skyroot Aerospace and Dhruva Space, which together account for 87 per cent of the city’s total, while Chennai’s is almost entirely attributable to AgniKul Cosmos, at 95 per cent.

The spacetech ecosystem spans companies working on launch vehicles, satellite manufacturing, propulsion systems, space situational awareness, earth observation, and downstream analytics. Of the 285 companies tracked, 274 remain active and 72 have received institutional equity funding.

Tracxn tracks more than 8.5 million entities through over 2,900 feeds categorised across industries, sub-sectors, geographies, and networks globally, according to the company.