7 months ago
India's space startups pivot to defence surveillance
India's space startups, which have been making money by selling data from satellites they launched, are now focusing on defence surveillance.
Companies like Pixxel and Digantara aim to get a lot of their business from defence contracts.
The Indian government is also encouraging private startups to work on defence projects.
These startups hope to grow a lot in the next few years by selling their satellite technology to defence agencies in India and other countries.
They have already raised a lot of money to build and test their satellites and rockets.
This shift could help India become a big player in the global defence market.
India's space startups are pivoting towards defence surveillance contracts, aiming for significant revenue from defence clients.
Pixxel and Digantara target at least half of their business from defence contracts, with Pixxel expecting 40-50% of its revenue to come from defence clients in the next three years.
The Indian government is encouraging private startups to develop defence technologies through initiatives like the iDEX challenge.
India’s private space economy revenue is expected to grow more than fivefold to $44 billion over the next eight years.
Startups have raised over $315 million in the past five years to build and test their satellites and rockets.
- Who
- Indian space startups like Pixxel, Digantara, Skyroot Aerospace, GalaxEye, and Bellatrix Aerospace
- What
- Pivoting towards defence surveillance contracts
- Where
- India and overseas, including the US
- When
- Over the next few years, with significant growth expected by 2027
- Why
- To tap into the lucrative defence market and diversify revenue streams
Key facts
- Expected revenue growth
- India’s private space economy revenue is expected to surge more than fivefold over the next eight years from $8.5 billion to $44 billion, growing at an annualized rate of 23%
- Pixxel's revenue
- $4.65 million in FY25
- Pixxel's defence revenue
- 40-50% of revenue in the next three years
- Digantara's projected revenue
- Over ₹250 crore by March 2027, 80% from government-backed clients
- Defence contracts
- Pixxel and Digantara target at least half of their business from defence contracts
- Funding
- India’s four most-funded space startups have raised over $315 million over the past five years
- Defence project
- MoD considering private space startups for an experimental surveillance project worth about ₹150 crore
Quotes
Awais Ahmed
Co-founder and chief executive of Bengaluru-based satellite imaging startup Pixxel
“Out of this, a rising volume of defence contracts, both in the US and India, will mean that 40-50% of our revenue will come solely from defence clients.”
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“Pixxel earned nearly 80% of its revenue from commercial clients who purchase their data, and sell analytics based on the same around the world.”
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Chaitanya Giri
Space fellow at policy think-tank, Observer Research Foundation
“The US is the world’s largest defence purchaser, but it has stringent regulations that will require Indian entities to set up independent operations there. While some have done it, focusing on defence requirements in the global south could be a significant revenue driver for space firms diversifying into defence.”
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“Chasing commercial contracts will be a path to much slower growth and practical revenue streams. Instead, most space firms should either focus on defence contracts, diversify their businesses worldwide, or set up completely independent entities that would solely focus on defence contracts.”
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Anirudh Sharma
CEO at Digantara
“The current capital that we have will go significantly into research and development (R&D) for building satellite-based defence technologies and solutions, which we expect to be our major revenue source in the next two years.”
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Pawan Kumar Chandana
Chief executive of Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace, India’s most-funded space startup
“In some cases, satellites—or the data generated by them—may be contracted by the defence agencies of their respective countries, as defence is one of the largest users of space-based capabilities.”
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