<keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s leading private space-tech company, Skyroot Aerospace has raised an additional $27.5 million, equivalent to ₹225 crore, in a pre-Series C funding round led by Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore. The present capital infusion builds upon the company's previous raise in 2022, bringing its total funding to USD 95 million, which is the largest ever for an Indian Space-tech startup. Skyroot plans to utilize the newly acquired capital to drive its next phase of growth through increased investments in infrastructure, reinforcement of its technology leadership, attraction of top-tier talent, and the enhancement of its launch frequency and capabilities, all while maintaining a lean and agile core team, the Hyderabad-headquartered company said in a statement. Founded in 2018 by space scientists-turned-space entrepreneurs, <keyword id="6364836" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="pawan-kumar" source="Orion">Pawan Kumar</keyword> Chandana and <keyword id="7537906" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="naga-bharath-daka" source="Orion">Naga Bharath Daka</keyword>, Skyroot is the country's leading private space launch vehicle company. In November 2022, it successfully launched India's and South Asia's first, and till date the only, privately developed rocket, marking Indian private space sector's entry into the space launch market. As the leading player in small and medium space launch vehicle designing and building in India's private sector, the company offers on-demand, cost-effective, reliable and regular space launch services to the fast-expanding global small and medium-sized satellite market, with satellite operators who look to deploy single or constellations of satellites across orbits as its customers. Skyroot was the first startup to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the <keyword id="116095" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="indian-space-research-organisation" source="Orion">Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword> (ISRO). The collaboration grants Skyroot access to ISRO's cutting-edge facilities and unparalleled expertise. Skyroot is poised to transform space launch capabilities of the country with its Vikram series of rockets, specially designed to deploy small and medium-sized satellites into space efficiently and reliably. "As we prepare for the launch of our second mission early next year, this new funding will enable us to accelerate our upcoming launches planned over the next two years. India's successful moon landing mission has reignited global interest in India's space prowess. As a key player in India's private space industry, we are amplifying our capabilities to tap into the expanding global satellite launch market with a goal to emerge as a favourite 'go-to' choice in space launch services for small satellites," said Pawan Kumar. Bharath Daka said this fund-raise would help the company to invest in the enhancement of production infrastructure, R&amp;D and team strength. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-and-suv-in-november-2023/slidelist/104817915.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-and-suv-in-november-2023/slidelist/104817915.cms" target="_blank">From the new Renault Duster to Tata Punch EV, upcoming cars launching in India this November</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/delhi-woman-loses-50-lakh-in-sim-swap-scam-heres-how-you-can-stay-safe/articleshow/104745898.cms">Delhi woman loses ₹50 lakh in SIM Swap scam – Here’s how you can stay safe</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/x-starts-rolling-out-audio-and-video-calls-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/104716334.cms">X starts rolling out audio and video calls – here’s everything you need to know</a>

Space-tech company Skyroot raises ₹225 cr in pre-Series C funding

<ul><li>Several big names like Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Mahindra’s Anand Mahindra have been investing in the Indian <keyword id="6177850" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="spacetech" source="Orion">spacetech</keyword> segment.</li><li>The $7 billion spacetech industry in India is exploding and there is a lot of room for both experts and <keyword id="53533" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="entrepreneurs" source="Orion">entrepreneurs</keyword>.</li><li>Elon Musk did not work with NASA, Pixxel’s Awais Ahmed told Business Insider to highlight that those looking to enter the sector just need to see how they can fill in the demand.</li><li>Check out the latest news and updates on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Business Insider</a>.</li></ul>The Indian spacetech industry has been growing rapidly over the last one year and giants like Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm), Anand Mahindra (Mahindra and Mahindra) and Balaji Srinivasan (former CTO at Coinbase) have been taking notice of the unique opportunities that this niche segment provides. The global commercial space industry was estimated to be $360 billion and the pie in India was expected to be worth about $7 billion, at the end of 2019, by consulting firm PwC. And the segment is growing at breakneck speed. There is a growing need for a whole host of experts and entrepreneurs to fill in an increasing demand across the value chain. The space sector can be divided into two categories <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Upstream </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Satellite manufacturers and launchers </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Downstream </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Activities based on the use of data provided by space infrastructure such as broadcasting, communications, navigation and more. </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>But what does it take to enter a domain which is as unique and technical as space? Business Insider spoke to three spacetech entrepreneurs at TIE Delhi’s India Internet Day conference on September 23. The early entrants of the spacetech domain — Dhruva Space’s Sanjay Nekkanti, Pixxel’s Awais Ahmed and Kawa Space’s Kris Nair — shared their inputs on the experites needed to start a spacetech business. “You can build a system, you can build better and more accurate monitoring of methane emissions. You can build better transportation systems. If you have a much cheaper way to kind of launch a bunch of satellites to any orbit there is no doubt. You have better ideas to kind of work around or in orbit, last mile transfer, small clusters beam clusters...The opportunities are endless,” Nair added. They all had one common thing to share — the will to start a business. Irrespective of their own diverse backdowns, the trio have been killing it in the Indian spacetech industry with several big names backing their business. Nair of Kawa Space, which is backed by Cure.Fit’s Mukesh Bansal and Paytm’s Sharma, noted that if someone has the desire to build something for the space industry, they just need to understand where the big gaps are. They can always build better versions of the already existing mechanisms or find the way to launch satellites for much cheaper, he added. Ahmed’s Pixxel further added that one does not need any connections with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) or be connected to the space industry from the beginning. The Internet is a great place to learn since there are PhD studies, reports, books and the reading material available on it, he said. Besides this, one can always reach out to entrepreneurs in this domain over social media platforms like LinkedIn to understand more about the segment. “The biggest space entrepreneur today, Elon Musk, was not associated with anything related to space. He learnt,” Ahmed added. Speaking from his engineering experience, Dhruva Space’s Nekkanti added there is a lot of scoop for growth hacking as a lot of technologies that are built for earth can come in handy for space operations as well with certain updates. “So, for people who want to be an entrepreneur in this industry if you have an, I talk from an engineer's perspective, if you have an engineering degree. You're currently working somewhere, it could be the IT industry. I think there could be some parts of that that can be applied in the space industry,” he added. Even funding is not a challenge The Indian space sector was valued at $7 billion back in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of $50 billion by 2024, a PWC report <a href="https://www.pwc.in/assets/pdfs/research-insights/2020/preparing-to-scale-new-heights.pdf">estimates</a>. Funding and garnering the interest of the investors was definitely one of the biggest challenges that the Indian spacetech industry faced until last year. There were no policies around it and investors simply didn’t want to take the risk. Mumbai Angels-backed Dhruva and Techstars-backed Pixxel had to talk to 100s of investors before they could actually close a funding round, However, the segment saw a ray of hope when the Indian government decided to privatise the space and allowed more companies to enter this domain. On May 21 earlier this year, both Anand Mahindra-backed Agnikul and Mukesh Bansal-backed Skyroot bagged<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/skyroot-aerospace-raises-11-million-in-funding-with-plans-to-have-vikram-1-on-the-launch-pad-by-mid-2022/articleshow/82788901.cms"> $11 million </a>each from several big names in the industry. These were the biggest rounds that Indian spacetech startups have raised to date. ALSO WATCH: Some of the India’s biggest tycoons are wetting their feet in the space sector, Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations' Dr.Chaitanya Girtold Business Insider. <div type="Video" msid="80406550" hostid="261" title="Here's why 2021 may be a watershed year for India's space sector" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=80406550"></div> SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/snoop-doggs-new-project-with-let-fans-party-with-him-inside-his-la-mansion-and-potentially-be-neighbours/articleshow/86478559.cms">Snoop Dogg’s new project will let fans party with him inside his LA mansion and potentially be neighbours</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/evergrandes-impact-on-bitcoin-highlights-how-cryptocurrencies-still-have-growing-pains/articleshow/86422657.cms">Evergrande’s impact on Bitcoin highlights how cryptocurrencies still have growing pains</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/three-reasons-why-this-might-be-a-good-time-to-buy-bitcoin/articleshow/86369793.cms">Three reasons why this might be a good time to buy Bitcoin</a>

We asked three spacetech entrepreneurs what it takes to enter the field and they listed out the opportunities

The Indian Space Research Organisation (<keyword id="6358064" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="isro" source="Orion">ISRO</keyword>) and <keyword id="10387" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="microsoft" source="Orion">Microsoft</keyword> on Thursday announced a collaboration to fuel the growth of space technology startups in the country. Through this tie-up, the space tech startups identified by ISRO will be on-boarded onto the 'Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub' platform, which supports startups at every stage of their journey from idea to unicorn. "ISRO's collaboration with Microsoft will greatly benefit space tech startups in their analysis and processing of vast amounts of satellite data for various applications, using cutting-edge methods like AI, Machine Learning and <keyword id="2144645" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="deep-learning" source="Orion">Deep Learning</keyword>," said <keyword id="2618685" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="s-somanath" source="Orion">S Somanath</keyword>, Chairman of ISRO. Through 'Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub', space-tech startup founders in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> will have free access to the tech tools, and resources they need to build and run their businesses. This includes technical support to build and scale on Azure, best-in-class developer and productivity tools including GitHub Enterprise, Visual Studio Enterprise and Microsoft 365 and access to smart analytics with Power BI and Dynamics 365. "Through our technology tools, platforms and mentorship opportunities, we are deeply committed to empowering space tech startups in the country to drive cutting-edge innovation and accelerate scientific discovery," said Anant Maheshwari, President of Microsoft India. Microsoft will also provide mentoring support to space tech entrepreneurs in areas ranging from space engineering to cloud technologies, product and design, fundraising and sales and marketing. In addition, founders will have access to Microsoft Learn for tailored startup-centric training content and programmes to help them build connections with the industry and potential customers, said the tech giant. Microsoft and ISRO will also jointly organise knowledge-sharing and thought leadership sessions for the startups with space industry experts. The government has opened up the space sector for private players. The country has more than 100 active startups in the space tech sector. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-infosys-wipro-and-other-it-companies-earnings-preview-for-q3-fy23/articleshow/96731891.cms">December quarter likely to be a weak one for the IT sector – Infosys amongst top analyst picks</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/hyderabadi-satya-nadella-insulted-by-his-own-software-as-it-calls-biryani-a-tiffin/articleshow/96756350.cms">Hyderabadi Satya Nadella 'insulted' by his own software as it calls Biryani a tiffin</a>

Microsoft join hands with ISRO to empower spacetech startups in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6360409" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nasa" source="Orion">NASA</keyword> is going back to the <keyword id="42440" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="moon" source="Orion">moon</keyword>, and this time it means business. </li><li>Private companies are helping it build lunar transport, GPS, Wi-Fi, and more.</li></ul>If NASA has its way, it will send astronauts back to the moon by the end of the decade, making them the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-missions-why-astronauts-have-not-returned-2018-7">first humans to walk</a> on the lunar surface in over half a century. But this isn't just another scientific mission. This time around, NASA means business. With its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasas-artemis-1-rocket-sending-quirky-cargo-moon-and-back-2022-8">Artemis missions</a>, the US space agency aims to lay the foundations for the first human settlements beyond Earth and pave the way for extraplanetary colonization. And business is at the core of its strategy. "It's not theoretical at this point — it's happening," Brendan Rosseau, a teaching fellow at Harvard Business School who focuses on the space economy, told Insider. The agency is tagging private companies <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-is-planning-starship-launch-moon-artemis-2023-2">like SpaceX</a>, Blue Origin, Nokia, Lockheed Martin, and General Motors, to develop solutions for its lunar missions such as space-worthy rides, moon streaming, lunar GPS, and more. This new market — worth <a href="https://www.nsr.com/?research=lunar-markets-3rd-edition" target="_blank">over $100 billion</a>— could be game-changing for humanity. "Definitely the moon is going to be a big business," said Prachi Kawade, a senior analyst at NSR, a research-and-consulting company focused on the space market. <h2>Artemis is not Apollo 2</h2>What NASA is aiming to achieve on the moon is "something that's never been done before," Rosseau said. While the Apollo missions of the 60s and 70s wanted to see if humans could reach the moon, the Artemis missions want humans to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-artemis-humans-to-live-moon-by-2030-says-official-2022-11">live there, work there</a>, and build there. At first, lunar missions could be limited to a couple of weeks or months in a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-details-of-artemis-missions-astronauts-return-to-moon-2020-9">lunar base camp</a>. But down the line, the ambition is for the moon to become a hub of human and robotic activity as it develops into a pit stop on the way to Mars. <div type="image" title="An illustration shows what a lunar base could look like, with astronauts walking around in suits doing tasks and the earth on the horizon." height="1500" width="2000" msid="102476589" hostid="261"></div>This creates a lot of opportunities for commercial development along the way, and NASA is aware of that. "We want to leave behind a wake of commercial activity and commerce and more routine living and working in space," Steve Creech, acting deputy associate administrator for the Artemis campaign, told Insider. <h2>There could be big bucks in moon mining</h2>Ultimately, the moon's main commercial draw is its potential for "in-situ resource utilization," Creech said. This means finding ways to mine and exploit lunar resources on the moon or on Earth. <div type="image" title="A footstep left behind by an astronaut's boot on the regolith on the moon." height="1000" width="2000" msid="102476591" hostid="261"></div>One commercially-interesting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-lunar-rover-found-thick-dust-on-moon-far-side-2020-2">resource is regolith</a>, the scientific name for moon dust. This could be <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Space_for_Earth/Energy/Helium-3_mining_on_the_lunar_surface" target="_blank">mined for helium-3</a> — a rare nonradioactive particle that could be used in fusion reactors to create clean energy on Earth — or could also be used for construction on the moon. <keyword id="1334" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword>, for instance, said it wants to build <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-to-build-moon-station-five-years-lunar-soil-bricks-2023-4">its lunar station</a> out of regolith. Another lead for moon mining is <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/rare-earth-elements-what-they-are-and-why-they-matter-1032148341">the rare-earth elements</a> that millennia of meteorites crashing into the moon may have left behind. These could be mined for electronics, Kawade said. But the moon's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/webb-telescope-captures-enceladus-water-plume-thousands-miles-long-2023-5">most attractive resource by far is water</a>. Scientists discovered <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-scientists-discover-moons-hidden-water-stores-2020-10">caches of water</a> near the moon's poles that could be extracted and turned into fuel to extend lunar missions or to fill up rockets on their way to Mars, per Kawade. "So the moon becomes a pit stop to Mars," Kawade said. <div type="image" title="ice water moon poles" height="485" width="970" msid="102476594" hostid="261"></div>We're probably at least a decade away from sending people or robots to mine the surface of the moon, but that doesn't mean people aren't already making money as they lay the groundwork for this business, Kawade said. "We are talking somewhere about $137 billion in opportunities in the next 10 years, and we estimate about 400-plus missions to be launched during this timeline," said Kawade. <h2>NASA wants to bring business with it to the moon </h2>Artemis is part of a grander scheme to empower the commercial sector to take charge of space exploration, a move initiated by then-President George W. Bush in the 2000s. He asked NASA to put the private sector at the center of its strategy after retiring the space shuttle program. Since then, NASA developed a "real commercial-first mindset," Rousseau said. The agency now awards <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-to-bed-nasa-lunar-lander-spacex-2022-3">contracts</a> to private actors to deliver products — such as rockets, landers, or services — against set amounts of money. <div type="image" title="The space shuttle is seen lifting off in the 90s." height="2069" width="4139" msid="102476597" hostid="261"></div>This means the agency limits its own research and development costs, while companies can take risks in developing ambitious technology because they have NASA as a built-in customer. "It is baking in the commercial sector as part of their plans," said Rosseau. "It created competition. It created incentives for companies to do things as reliably and also as cheaply as possible," he said. Per Rosseau, this model has started to bear fruit. Companies like Blue Origin and <keyword id="6360701" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="spacex" source="Orion">SpaceX</keyword> likely wouldn't exist without NASA's ambition to go to the moon, he argued. <h2>There's money in making future moon settlers comfortable</h2>You can't have mining on the moon without the proper infrastructure. And those looking to build it are starting to see money coming in. One way to support long-term missions is to find ways to do cheap Earth-to-moon deliveries. NASA has been investing heavily in the development of uncrewed robotic landers that can deliver goods and services to the moon through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-moon-rover-rocket-company-commercial-lunar-payload-services-clps-2020-6">CLPS</a> program. Pittsburg aerospace and robotics company Astrobotic Technology is one of the main players in the CLPS program. It landed a contract worth $320 million to deliver several payloads for NASA. One such payload, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover or VIPER, is set to be delivered to the south pole <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-replans-clps-delivery-of-viper-to-2024-to-reduce-risk" target="_blank">in 2024.</a> The robot will seek out traces of water ice on the moon. <div type="image" title="viper moon rover nasa" height="937" width="1874" msid="102476599" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/intuitive-machines-adds-7-on-successful-test-run-of-nova-c-lunar-lander-1032447922">Intuitive Machines</a>, a space-exploration company based in Texas, also won also a $77 million contract from NASA for three payload missions, two of which are set to be delivered this year. One of these is the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) drill, which is due to test for ice below the moon's surface. This, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/game_changing_development/projects/PRIME-1" target="_blank">per NASA</a>, will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the moon. Astronauts will also need electricity. One plan is to build local power grids by bringing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-plans-mini-nuclear-reactors-moon-power-lunar-colony-2022-7#:~:text=NASA%20is%20developing%20plans%20to,Mars%2C%20an%20expert%20told%20Insider.">nuclear power reactors</a> to the moon. Lockheed Martin is one of the companies working on a concept proposal. NASA is also looking to develop appropriate moon-worthy rides. General Motors is teaming up with Lockheed Martin to develop a battery-powered lunar rover that could travel much further than those used in the Apollo days. Another prerequisite for long-term settlement is navigation and communications. There's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/no-gps-on-moon-nasa-esa-artemis-plans-to-fix-2023-1">no GPS or Wi-Fi </a>around or on the moon. That means missions rely on constant supervision from engineers on Earth, which will quickly become unsustainable as hundreds of missions are planned to be launched over the next decade. To fill that void, NASA awarded a $14 million contract to Nokia to deliver internet to the moon. <a href="https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2023/02/27/nokia-bell-labs-showcases-cutting-edge-research-on-lunar-networks-and-6g-at-mwc23/https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/28/nokia-set-to-launch-4g-internet-on-the-moon-later-this-year.html#:~:text=Nokia%20is%20planning%20to%20launch,needs%20of%20future%20space%20missions.https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-nokia-4g-network-moon-2020-10" target="_blank">The firm aims to send a 4G network to the moon</a> by 2024.<a href="https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2023/02/27/nokia-bell-labs-showcases-cutting-edge-research-on-lunar-networks-and-6g-at-mwc23/" target="_blank"></a> <div type="image" title="An artist's impression shows an astronaut sitting back while taking a picture of the Earth rising behind the surface of the moon with a smartphone." height="1000" width="2000" msid="102476602" hostid="261"></div><h2>Fly me to the moon</h2>However, the most lucrative part of the moon market by far is rocket development, said Kawade, who leads NSR's lunar-market report. NASA built its own system for its upcoming Artemis moon missions, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-how-nasa-built-sls-mega-rocket-artemis-moon-missions-2022-8">the Space Launch System</a> (SLS) mega-rocket with its Orion spacecraft. But the agency has put the development of the mission's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-elon-musk-nasa-lunar-landing-astronauts-2021-4">human landing system</a> (HLS), which will bring astronauts from the moon's orbit to the lunar surface, in the hands of private companies. <keyword id="6355315" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Elon-Musk" source="Orion">Elon Musk</keyword>'s SpaceX has been the frontrunner in the race to land this bid, gaining billion-dollar contracts to develop the HLS for NASA's Artemis III and IV missions. Along the way, Musk has promised to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-starship-rocket-update-flight-cost-million-2022-2">reduce the cost of launch</a> and to make <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-sn15-starship-rocket-fly-again-soon-2021-5">its rockets reusable</a>, which could lower the cost of future missions. NASA's contracts also boosted the development of the company's flagship high-capacity <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starship-spacex-elon-musk-reusable-rocket-mars-moon-launch-2023-2">mega-rocket Starship</a>, SpaceX's most ambitious project yet. <div type="image" title="Starship rocket on its launchpad, minutes before its launch" height="1080" width="1440" msid="102476604" hostid="261"></div>There is one drawback: though Starship is crucial for NASA's upcoming missions, the rocket hasn't yet successfully flown to orbit. In fact, it <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-first-space-launch" target="_blank">exploded</a> on its first integrated launch in April. Still, NASA isn't putting all its stock in SpaceX. Blue Origin recently won a $3.4 billion contract for NASA's Artemis V human lunar launcher, a win for a company that had lost its previous bids to SpaceX. The contract should boost the development of the company's own mega-rocket, New Glenn. Even NASA's SLS spacecraft — which was built and developed in-house, a relic of NASA's old approach to rocket development — has been big money for the private sector. Lockheed Martin was awarded a $2.7 billion contract and a $1.9 billion extension to deliver six Orion spacecraft for the Artemis missions III to VIII. <h2>The market may not be self-sustaining before mid-2030, but that may not matter</h2>At this point, NASA remains the most prominent client in the lunar market. If the US government decided tomorrow to pull its backing from private investment, it's possible the market wouldn't survive off its own back. Private investment in extraplanetary exploration and exploitation has only just started to trickle in, which is encouraging, Kawade said. For instance, AstroForge, an asteroid-mining startup in California, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/26/astroforge-raises-13m-seed-round-for-asteroid-mining-ambitions/" target="_blank">has raised $13 million</a> in private capital for two upcoming missions. Lunar Outpost, a space-tech firm from Colorado, <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220524005399/en/Lunar-Outpost-Announces-12-Million-Seed-Investment-to-Scale-Mobility-Technology-Enabling-Commercial-Lunar-Advancement" target="_blank">raised $12 million in seed investment</a> to develop lunar rovers and technologies. Still, if the market is to be self-sustaining, companies will need to find other clients to buy what they are selling on the moon, and it's not clear whether anyone has cracked this business model, Rosseau said. Still, Rosseau anticipates, this flash point could be coming in the mid-2030s. "I think what really gets investors and businesses excited is seeing these huge tailwinds when it comes to lunar activity," he said. Whether the lunar market can survive without NASA might be missing the point anyway, Kawade said. On the way to the moon, companies are likely to discover technologies that can have lucrative applications here on Earth, she said. Following NASA's lead, others have also started looping in the private sector to their space exploration programs, including <a href="https://www.pwc.com.au/industry/space-industry/lunar-market-assessment-2021.pdf" target="_blank">Japan, China, and Russia</a>'s space agencies. <h2>Welcome to the space race of the 2020s</h2>Money isn't the only drive pushing the US and its allies to bring businesses to the moon. There are strong political incentives to get there before China, Rosseau said. "It is a fact: We're in a space race," NASA's current administrator <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-bill-nelson-warns-china-claim-moon-territory-lunar-resources-2023-1">Bill Nelson</a> told Politico in January. "It is true that we better watch out that they don't get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research," he added. "And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they say, 'Keep out, we're here, this is our territory.'" More than 24 space-faring nations have signed the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html" target="_blank">US's Artemis Accords,</a> a set of rules drawn up by NASA for international cooperation on the moon. China was not one of them. The nation has set its own independent path to the moon, for which it is seeking <a href="https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/china-space-latin/" target="_blank">closer relations</a> with space agencies in Russia, Latin America, and Central Asia. The US still dominates space. It has more satellites in orbit — 3,433 US satellites in orbit versus 541 for China — and has more budget — about $60 billion in 2021 versus about $16 billion for China, Svetla Ben-Itzhak, then an assistant professor at Air University in Alabama, recently<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-us-in-a-space-race-against-china-203473" target="_blank"> told </a>The Conversation. Still, China is moving toward the moon on a competitive timeline. It attempted 55 launches in 2021, four more than the US, per Ben-Itzhak. It was also the first nation to put a spacecraft on the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/far-side-of-the-moon-china-rover-explores-tracks-2019-1">far side</a> of the moon in 2019 and has launched its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-to-launch-first-people-to-new-space-station-2021-6">own crewed space station</a> into orbit, just as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-pull-iss-2024-build-own-space-station-roscosmos-putin-2022-7">International Space Station is nearing the end</a> of its life. Both the US and China are signatories of the <a href="https://treaties.unoda.org/a/outer_space/china/ACC/washington#:~:text=The%20Republic%20of%20China%20signed,sole%20legal%20government%20of%20China%20." target="_blank">Outer Space Treaty</a>, which means they've agreed that no country can militarize or claim the moon. But there is still considerable "first-mover advantage" to whichever business gets there first, said Rousseau said. One issue, for instance, is interoperability between infrastructures. While NASA has been working with collaborators to develop a language that could be used across all lunar devices, China has not been participating. If it gets there first, it could set a different standard, foiling the US allies' efforts. "There's a real incentive for liberal democracies to get there — whoever gets there writes the rules essentially," Rousseau said. Correction: August 8, 2023 — An earlier version of this story misstated the affiliation of then assistant professor Svetla Ben-Itzhak. She was writing from the Air University in Alabama, not Pakistan.

The moon is open for business, and entrepreneurs are racing to make billions

<ul><li>The company’s flagship product offering features multi-sensor imagery via modern satellites. </li><li>The startup will use the fresh funding to bolster the hiring of top talent and help launch the world's first multi-sensor satellite for earth observation. </li><li>The India <keyword id="718929" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-exploration" source="Orion">space exploration</keyword> industry is expected to hit $13 billion by 2025.</li></ul><keyword id="11360719" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="galaxeye" source="Orion">GalaxEye</keyword> Space, an Indian spacetech start-up focused on earth observation, announced on Thursday that it has successfully raised a $3.5 million round of seed funding led by <keyword id="15793055" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="special-invest" source="Orion">Special Invest</keyword>, a deep-tech venture capital firm. The new round also had participation from Artha India Ventures, <keyword id="14083005" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="veda-vc" source="Orion">Veda VC</keyword>, Anicut Capital, Upsparks and a consortium of entrepreneurs including Nithin Kamath (Founder/CEO of Zerodha), Prashant Pitti (Founder/CEO of EaseMyTrip), Abhishek Goyal (Founder/CEO of Tracxn) and Ganpathy Subramaniam (Partner at Celesta Capital). The company’s flagship product offering features multi-sensor imagery via modern satellites and data fusion technology, developed in-house. GalaxEye’s technology will enable the production of images with extremely high resolution via a small satellite constellation that, once fully operational, will provide global coverage in under 12 hours. “We are truly the first Indian space start-up incorporated in India to build an imaging satellite and we are committed to accelerating technological innovation in India for the world,” Suyash Singh, co-founder &amp; CEO, GalaxEye Space said. India’s private space exploration has taken a huge lift-off, especially in the past two months. In October this year, the Indian Space Research Organisation (<keyword id="6358064" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro" source="Orion">ISRO</keyword>) launched 36 communications satellites of London-based communications company, OneWeb. Hyderabad-based spacetech startup, <keyword id="7537495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="skyroot-aerospace" source="Orion">Skyroot Aerospace</keyword>, also created India’s first privately built rocket Vikram-S, which was launched by ISRO in November this year. In fact, the country’s space exploration space is expected to reach a valuation of $13 billion by <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-commentary/indias-space-exploration-sector-will-potentially-hit-13-billion-by-2025-making-it-ripe-for-startups/articleshow/96180161.cms">2025</a>. GalaxEye will soon launch its first satellite as well, denoted as "Drishti Mission". The company also stated that it will use the fresh funding for hiring top-tier talent and accelerating the launch of the world's first multi-sensor satellite for earth observation. “Next year is crucial for us, as we aspire to reach space with our satellite and become the leader in multi-sensor imaging for the industry. We will be seeking an additional round of funding of the order of $15-25 million in 2023 to add more satellites to our constellation,” added Singh. Founded in 2020, GalaxEye is the brainchild of entrepreneurs emerging from <keyword id="7762552" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="avishkar-hyperloop" source="Orion">Avishkar Hyperloop</keyword>, a team of scientists brought together via global competition organized by Elon Musk’s aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company, SpaceX. GalaxEye also announced availability of the company’s flagship product offering, featuring multi-sensor imagery via modern satellites. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/will-be-lucky-if-we-grow-5-next-year-says-former-rbi-governor-raghuram-rajan/articleshow/96249572.cms">Will be lucky if we grow 5% next year says former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/how-many-startups-turned-unicorns-in-2022-in-india-check-out-the-list/articleshow/96248261.cms">New Indian unicorns get rarer in 2022 as funding winter sets in</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/bumble-reveals-upcoming-dating-trends-in-2023/slidelist/96243427.cms#slideid=96244109">Inter-city love, better boundaries &amp; rise of divorced singles: Bumble reveals upcoming dating trends in 2023</a>

Indian spacetech startup GalaxEye raises $3.5 million in seed round

<ul><li>Over 27 startups have been valued over a billion dollars this year, however, only one of them was led by women.</li><li>Out of the 136 unicorn startup founders in India, five of them are female.</li><li>Mamaearth, Mobikwik and Acko General Insurance are expected to be valued at over $1 billion in the next four years.</li></ul>It has been raising unicorns since the start of this year. So far 27 startups — ranging from diverse segments such as online pharmacy, social commerce, infrastructure-led marketplace, and more — have been valued over a billion dollars this year and entered the unicorn club. However, only one of them is actually led by women. OfBusiness, which offers raw material procurement service and credit to small and medium businesses (SMBs), was founded by Ruchi Kalra, Vasant Sridhar, Bhuvan Gupta and Nitin Jain over six years ago. ALSO WATCH: “45% of our startups are based out of Tier-II and Tier-III cities,” says Aastha Grover from Startup India. <div type="Youtube" id="CyHmMExHgWI" title="The road to becoming an entrepreneur from an executive | #FutureOfWork Summit" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CyHmMExHgWI/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The company turned unicorn in July, after the $160 million round led by SoftBank Vision Fund II that valued the company at a whopping $1.5 billion. The business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce startup counts Falcon Edge Capital, Alpha Wave Incubation, and Matrix Partners India, among others. <div type="image" title="OfBusiness was the only woman led startup that entered the unicorn club this year" msid="86511085" hostid="261"></div> “We can look at it as glass half empty or glass half full. There are now more <keyword id="74945" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="women-entrepreneurs" source="Orion">women entrepreneurs</keyword> in the start up space than ever before. When I started off as a tech entrepreneur in 2009, we could be counted on one hand. Now there are founders — Phalguni Nayar of Nykaa and Upasana Taku of Mobikwik who are at the helm of taking their companies public with many lining up. The reason for delay in women reaching the mark at the same pace as men is because they started slightly later”- Anisha Singh, founding partner at She Capital, told Business Insider India. Singh has formerly led coupon provider MyDala and content marketing solutions Kinis Software Solutions. She noted that there are several reasons why women got a delayed start in the Indian startup scene. One of those reasons is that there were not enough female role models to prove that women were capable of building and scaling a business, which pushed back investors to invest in women-led businesses. Emergence of strong businesses like Bumble or Nykaa has led investors to believe more in women-led startups now, Singh added. ALSO WATCH: Kiran Majumdar Saw, Vani Kola and Nandini Piramal talk about the lack of women in the workforce and how it can be overcome. <div type="Youtube" id="XZa4lDd9T_Q" title="Hear From The Best In the Industry, What Is Best For The Industry?" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XZa4lDd9T_Q/mqdefault.jpg"></div> “Just check out the investments coming from venture capitalists to <keyword id="3377347" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="women-startups" source="Orion">women startups</keyword> as compared to the male founders...A maximum number of Venture Capitalists are men. The age-old beliefs somehow dictate the funding in the tech industry too. Men invest in men, for business. Women entrepreneurs have to overcome the scenario,” Rachitta Juneja, Founder, Whide. More female-led companies to enter unicorn club in next four years The year 2021 has been a record breaking year for Indian startups so far — with the new age companies hitting the public market, cracking the biggest funding deals and more companies being valued at over a billion dollars. According to a business intelligence firm Tracxn, Indian startups have raised $23 billion in 2021 till September 1. This is significantly higher than $13 billion raised by the ecosystem in 2020. The massive interest of the investors has increased India’s unicorn tally to 56. The new estimates show that 150 startups will be valued at over a billion dollars in the next four years, by 2025. Of this, Hurun India report estimates the following female-led startups to make it to the list. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Startup </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Women Entrepreneur </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Timeline </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zilingo </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ankiti Bose </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2023 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Mamaearth </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ghazal Alagh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2023 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">MobiKwik </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Upasana Taku </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2023 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Pristyn Care </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Dr. Garima Sawhney </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2023 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ecom Express </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Manju Dhawan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2023 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Acko General Insurance </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ruchi Deepak </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2023 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Qure AI </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Pooja Rao </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">N/A </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">WinZo </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Saumya Singh Rathore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2025 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">MyGlamm </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Priyanka Gill </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2025 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Square Yards </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Kanika Gupta </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2025 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bankbazaar </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Rati Shetty </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2025 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Pratilipi </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sahradayi Modi </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2025 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SirionLabs </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Kanti Prabha </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2025 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zivame </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Richa Kar </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">By 2025 </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/freshworks-ceo-girish-mathrubootham-shares-someone-said-i-will-be-nothing-but-a-rickshaw-puller/articleshow/86507840.cms">WATCH: "Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller," shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/meet-girish-mathrubootham-founder-and-ceo-of-freshworks/articleshow/86453777.cms">Girish Mathrubootham, the son of a retired bank officer who built a $13 billion company in just 10 years</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/we-asked-three-spacetech-entrepreneurs-what-it-takes-to-enter-the-field-and-they-listed-out-the-opportunities/articleshow/86484417.cms">We asked three spacetech entrepreneurs what it takes to enter the field and they listed out the opportunities</a>

OfBusiness was the only woman led startup that entered the unicorn club this year

<ul><li><keyword id="3810461" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pi-ventures" source="Orion">pi Ventures</keyword> has announced the first closing of its second fund at $40 million.</li><li>The fund size is $75 million, including a green shoe target of $100 million.</li><li>This fund has already been deployed to back biotech startup ImmunitoAI.</li></ul>Early-stage venture fund pi Ventures has announced the first closing of its second fund at ₹300 crore ($40 million) to invest in 20-25 startups in the next three years. The company has launched the fund II in March 2021 with a base target corpus of ₹565 crore ($75 million), including a green shoe target of ₹750 crore ($100 million). The investment firm aims to announce the second close by mid 2022, Manish Singhal, founding partner at pi Ventures, told Business Insider. Several high net worth individuals (HNIs) and family offices — including Mamaearth’s Varun Alagh, Flipkart’s Binny Bansal, MakeMyTrip’s Deep Kalra, and senior leaders from IBM, Facebook and Google — have participated in the venture fund. Founded in 2016, pi Ventures had closed its Fund I in ₹225 crore ($30 million) in 2018. The fund has been used to invest in 15 startups, including breast cancer screening solution Niramai, Google-backed mental health platform Wysa, spacetech company Agnikul and logistics company Locus. Like the fund I, pi Ventures’ Fund II will be sector agnostic too. This fund has already been deployed to back biotech startup ImmunitoAI that is developing an AI-powered antibody discovery and screening platform. “The interest in our fund demonstrates the confidence of our investors in our team and our investment strategy. We will continue supporting early-stage entrepreneurs in the deep tech space and we take the learnings from our first fund portfolio to scale on this now proven strategy,” Singhal added. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/union-defence-budget-2022-submarines-drones-warships-and-aircraft-carriers/articleshow/88989045.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">This year’s defence budget may focus on building submarines, drones, warships and aircraft carriers</a> <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/bajaj-finance-bajaj-auto-hero-motocorp-and-other-hot-stocks-on-january-19/slidelist/88985936.cms"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indias-daily-covid-19-cases-surge-by-7-8-in-a-day-active-cases-stand-at-1831000/articleshow/88987362.cms">India’s daily COVID-19 cases surge by 7.8% in a day, active cases stand at 18,31,000</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ags-transact-technologies-ipo-cash-management-firm-looking-to-halve-its-debt-with-ipo-money/articleshow/88987025.cms">AGS Transact is a cash management firm looking to halve its debt with IPO money</a>

pi Ventures plans to invest in 25 young startups with its latest $75 million fund

<ul><li>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched upon several pressing issues at his speech at the <keyword id="426867" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="united-nations-general-assembly" source="Orion">United Nations General Assembly</keyword>.</li><li>Modi was addressing the UNGA assembly for the fourth time as India’s Prime Minister.</li><li>Modi said Afghanistan’s territory must not be used to spread terrorism.</li></ul>Calling for a rule-based world order, a clear international stance against governments that use terrorism as a policy tool, and decrying the manipulation of ‘ease of doing business’ rankings ⁠— Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his jibes, veiled as they were, on Afghanistan, Pakistan and China at one of the world’s biggest diplomatic stages. Modi was addressing the <keyword id="6355833" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="united-nations" source="Orion">United Nations</keyword> General Assembly (UNGA) for the fourth time as India’s Prime Minister. The theme for this year's general debate was ‘building resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations.’ You can watch Modi’s entire speech at the UNGA here: <div type="Youtube" id="sHKkstG4z4k" title="PM Modi's address to the United Nations General Assembly" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sHKkstG4z4k/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The following quotes from Modi’s <keyword id="12175135" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="speech-at-unga" source="Orion">speech at UNGA</keyword> can be read in the context of India’s peeves against China and its policies as well as the newly-established Taliban regime in Afghanistan and its backers in the Pakistan establishment: <ul><li>Countries with regressive thinking are using terrorism as as a political tool, they will have to understand that terrorism is just as dangerous to them.</li><li>It is important to ensure that Afghanistan is not used as a tool to spread terrorism and launch terror attacks.</li><li>We have to be alert to ensure that no country tries to use the delicate situation in Afghanistan as a tool.</li><li>This is the time that the citizens of Afghanistan, their women, their children, their minorities need help, and in this, we have to take responsibility.</li><li>We will have to make sure that we use our ocean resources, not abuse them. They are the lifelines of world trade, we should save them from the race of expansion and exclusion.</li><li>If the United Nations needs to keep itself relevant, then it should improve its effectiveness and reliability.</li><li>Several questions are being raised about the United Nations. We saw that during the climate crisis, COVID-19, the several proxy wars going on around the world, and now the Afghanistan situation - they have all just made these questions more severe.</li><li>In relation to COVID-19 origins and Ease of Doing Business rankings, the organisations involved in global governance have hurt their credibility built over several decades.</li><li>It is important that we continuously strengthen the UN when it comes to global law, global governance and global values.</li><li>Today, one out of every six people in the world is an Indian. When India grows, the world grows. When India reforms, the world transforms.</li><li>It is essential to ensure that Afghanistan’s territory is not used to spread terrorism or for terrorist activities.</li></ul>Modi also took the opportunity to highlight what he considers to be the achievements of the Indian government that he leads. These are some of the selected highlights from his UNGA speech. <ul><li>Yes, democracy can deliver, has delivered.</li><li>In over 6 lakh villages in India, India is mapping digital records for citizens to be able to own land using drones to reduce property disputes.</li><li>India has struck a better balance between economy and ecology. There is a growing threat of regressive thinking and activism in the world.</li><li>Modi said that India is going to send 75 satellites built by students in colleges.</li><li>During the last 7 years, India has brought more than 43 crore people (with not even a bank account earlier) into the banking system. Today, 360 million people have insurance coverage for the first time.</li><li>Today, Indians use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to make nearly 350 crore transactions every month.</li><li>India has developed the world's first DNA vaccine. It can be administered to anyone above the age of 12. The PM even called for Covid-19 vaccine makers to come and make their vaccines in India.</li><li>India is moving at a fast pace towards setting up 450 MW renewable energy. We are trying to make India the world’s biggest hub for green hydrogen.</li><li>The threat of regressive thinking and terrorism is increasing in the world. In these circumstances, the entire world needs to make science-based rationale and progressive thinking as the foundation of development.</li></ul>SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/we-asked-three-spacetech-entrepreneurs-what-it-takes-to-enter-the-field-and-they-listed-out-the-opportunities/articleshow/86484417.cms">We asked three spacetech entrepreneurs what it takes to enter the field and they listed out the opportunities</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/freshworks-ceo-girish-mathrubootham-shares-someone-said-i-will-be-nothing-but-a-rickshaw-puller/articleshow/86507840.cms">WATCH: "Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller," shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/freshworks-ceo-girish-mathrubootham-shares-someone-said-i-will-be-nothing-but-a-rickshaw-puller/articleshow/86507840.cms"></a><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/freshworks-ceo-girish-mathrubootham-shares-someone-said-i-will-be-nothing-but-a-rickshaw-puller/articleshow/86507840.cms"></a><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/freshworks-ceo-girish-mathrubootham-shares-someone-said-i-will-be-nothing-but-a-rickshaw-puller/articleshow/86507840.cms"></a>

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes his points on China, Afghanistan and Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly

<ul><li><keyword id="2167965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="girish-mathrubootham" source="Orion">Girish Mathrubootham</keyword> is the co-founder and CEO of <keyword id="4621694" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword>, which is worth nearly $13 billion.</li><li>“The point is you don't have to fight at that point of time, you don't have to react or respond, but to use it to fire to do something creative,” he says. </li><li>The 46-year old Mathrubootham shared stories from his life’s journey, from his parents’ divorce to scornful relatives, and how he dealt with the down moments in his life, in an interview with Business Insider.</li></ul>“I have had relatives who have told me that I am only good enough to be a rickshaw puller,” says Girish Mathrubootham, the man who went on to build Freshworks, one of the biggest software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies in India. With a valuation of $13 billion, Freshworks has become the first decacorn (a startup valued at over $10 billion) in this space and the first Indian SaaS company to<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/freshworks-ipo-the-success-story-of-indias-first-saas-company-to-be-listed-in-us-stock-exchange/articleshow/86453444.cms"> list on Nasdaq</a>. In a candid conversation with Business Insider, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) opened up about his early life and the challenges he overcame. The 46-year old Mathrubootham remembered the scornful remarks from 1992, when he couldn't score high enough in his class 12 and entrance exams for engineering ⁠— not from his parents but his relatives ⁠— while speaking about how he dealt with the down moments in his life. “The point is you don't have to fight (the naysayers) at that point of time, you don't have to react or respond, but to use it to fire to do something creative,” Mathrubootham says. <div type="Video" msid="86606660" hostid="261" title="A candid conversation with Freshworks founder and CEO, Girish Mathubootham" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=86606660"></div> “The other thing to do is truly follow your heart, you will be happy,” he adds, while citing multiple examples from the Indian film industry including Rajkumar Hirani’s blockbuster 3 idiots. “Madhavan [R Madhavan, who plays Farhan in 3 Idiots] says, ‘It’s okay I will not have enough money but so what, I will be happy as a wildlife photographer’,” Mathrubootham recites the dialogue. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">&#39;Wanted to be a film director before becoming an entrepreneur&#39;, Girish Mathrubootham, Founder &amp; CEO of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Freshworks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Freshworks</a>, says in a candid conversation with <a href="https://twitter.com/iyer_sriram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iyer_sriram</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/FreshworksInc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FreshworksInc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mrgirish?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mrgirish</a> <a href="https://t.co/VDmFKZrgUb">pic.twitter.com/VDmFKZrgUb</a>&mdash; Business Insider India🇮🇳 (@BiIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/BiIndia/status/1441722901724491777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>]]></cdata></div> ‘Success is not always about money’ He had moved back to India from the US after the dotcom bubble had burst at the turn of the millennium. From earning $85,000 a year in 2001, he was back in India at a job that only paid him ₹40,000 a month in 2005-06. His father, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/meet-girish-mathrubootham-founder-and-ceo-of-freshworks/articleshow/86453777.cms#:~:text=Girish%20Mathrubootham%20is%20the%20star,so%20that%20his%20employees%20could.">a retired bank officer today</a>, was concerned because in his eyes all of Girish’s friends were successful with well paying jobs and had bought their own house. Girish, on the other hand, only had the in-hand salary and a two-bedroom apartment on a loan. “People’s definition of success is different. I was looking at being happy. So I was going after what made me happy, not chasing money. I was enjoying my career, building products and having fun, my friends knew that but I think that was okay,” he adds. ‘Differentiating the well wishers and well informed’ Mathrubootham doesn’t take advice from everyone. “If you are Sachin Tendulkar, who do you take advice from — Gary Kirsten or the other man who is there in every Tendulkar match with the Indian flag painted on his body,” he says. He was referring to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudhir_Kumar_Chaudhary">Sudhir Gautam</a>, a die-hard fan of Tendulkar and one who would famously be seen in every match that Team India played at home. “The said man (Sudhir Gautam) is a well wisher but Kirsten has more knowledge about this field,” Mathrubootham adds. <div type="image" title="Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller,&amp;quot; shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat" msid="86508163" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Sudhir Gautam&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “I don’t give the key to my happiness to anyone and recommend my wife to do the same,” Mathrubootham says. An early jolt that made him independent Mathrubootham was young when his parents got divorced. "I would just say that experience also made me who I am and so in a very simple sense that I had to kind of fend for myself, take my own decisions and be accountable for those decisions," he says, adding he doesn’t like taking decisions on other peoples’ part including that of his own children. If you take all the decisions for your children until they’re 25, how do you expect them to go out into the world, he adds. “Decision making also needs experience,” he believes. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/meet-girish-mathrubootham-founder-and-ceo-of-freshworks/articleshow/86453777.cms">Girish Mathrubootham, the son of a retired bank officer who built a $13 billion company in just 10 years </a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/freshworks-ipo-lists-on-us-exchange-gives-tribute-to-rajinikanth-during-the-listing-ceremony/articleshow/86452943.cms">Landmark moment for this Rajinikanth fan’s SaaS startup on listing at US exchange </a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/we-asked-three-spacetech-entrepreneurs-what-it-takes-to-enter-the-field-and-they-listed-out-the-opportunities/articleshow/86484417.cms">We asked three spacetech entrepreneurs what it takes to enter the field and they listed out the opportunities</a>

WATCH: "Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller," shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/55029148.cms" />It’s aptly quoted, “We were born as explorers, not caretakers”. The “beyond planet” fascination is hard to explain but it is what it is. Technology and so much else has changed over the decades since those first footprints in the lunar dust that there’s now a good chance a <keyword id="6360409" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA">NASA</keyword> astronaut won’t be the first to walk out onto the next new world. 
 
TeamIndus, an aerospace start-up based out of Bangalore is going to be the first privately funded company in the world to land a rover on moon and it’ll be done with the help of former ISRO scientists who have worked on projects like Aryabhatta and Chandrayaan-1. 
 
From an IT job to being a space-tech entrepreneur 
 “Rahul Narayan (Co-founder) was working at an IT firm and he then saw this wallpaper of Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) on a desktop. The first thing he did was find out what it was and then call the GLXP office to find out which Indian team was in the competition. Fortunately, there was no one and then at the moment he registered. Quit his job and started pursuing this,” said <keyword id="3453187" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sheelika-ravishankar">Sheelika Ravishankar</keyword>, Marketing and Outreach. 
 For an engineer working at an IT firm leaving his job to pursue his dreams has always been a risky venture. Guess what? Risk takers get rewards. He then took this company to a point where <keyword id="44604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nandan-Nilekani">Nandan Nilekani</keyword>, and former Yahoo India R&amp;D chief <keyword id="207306" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sharad-Sharma">Sharad Sharma</keyword> were the first one to invest. Why wouldn’t they be? It’s a matter of national pride and not just equity. 
 
Google Lunar X Prize 
 
The Google Lunar XPRIZE was launched in September 2007. The competition offers a total of US$30 million in prizes to the first privately funded teams to land a robot on the Moon that successfully travels more than 500 meters and transmits back high-definition images and video. 
 
The Spacecraft 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/55029152.cms" /> 
The lightest UAV sent on moon was by China, which was nearly 150 kgs. The spacecraft we’re making will carry a 20-kg payload, of which 10 kg will be allotted for commercial use. Yes, they took it to another level (from 150 kgs to 20). “Additionally there are a lot of complications in making an aircraft, we have to take care of temperatures, we have to land on the right spot decided at that moment, right wheels to travel on the surface of moon etc. But we’ve been doing good under the guidance of ISRO experts and our young and enthusiastic colleagues.Of which some of them have left their previous jobs,” said Sheelika. 
 
AI enabled Rover 
 
The rover will be tapped with AI enabled software which will decide where to land at moment. “We looked at all the data from NASA and Russian mission and we found a spot called Mare Imbrium. When the system reaches the surface it has to make decision anonymously. Because it’s moving at a speed of 1.7 kms/sec we needed to have AI in the system. So we collaborated with Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics(LASP), University of Colorado, which is older than NASA.,” said Sheelika 
 
Investment 
 
When asked about how much they need to build a rover and successfully execute the requirements, Sheelika stated that the total sum required is US$70 million and currently they’re in a process to raise another round of US$10 million.

You Searched For "spacetech entrepreneur" and got 10 results

Space-tech company Skyroot raises ₹225 cr in pre-Series C funding

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OfBusiness was the only woman led startup that entered the unicorn club this year

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes his points on China, Afghanistan and Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly

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WATCH: "Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller," shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat

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This Indian Startup will be the first privately funded company to land a rover on Moon

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