Sector Briefing · India
Space
Data as of 12 Oct 2026Methodology
India’s space sector has grown into a mid-sized deep-tech frontier, with teams applying machine learning, deep learning, and satellite communication to core challenges such as rocket propulsion, space debris mitigation, and planetary rovers. The presence of numerous foreign patent filers alongside a steady stream of granted patents signals rising international interest in the country’s space innovation capabilities.
India has 621 space startups mapped; 964 patent applications analysed, of which 200 are granted; 121 foreign filers are active in the sector.
- Startups:
- 621
- Patents:
- 964
- Granted:
- 200
- Foreign share:
- 16%
- Inventors:
- 3,004
- In opposition window:
- 28
Why this page exists - and how to read it
A one-page brief of this sector: its filing trend, the problems being worked on, the technologies in play, who files most, foreign interest, and a sample of the startups we've mapped to it. Each panel is a door - most drill into a fuller view.
- Investors
- Read the trend and foreign share first - momentum plus outside interest - then scan the roster for patent-backed startups.
- Founders & operators
- The problems list is a whitespace map: crowded themes are validated demand, thin ones are open ground.
- Corporate & R&D
- Top filers and technologies show who to benchmark and where the sector is consolidating.
- Policy & TTO
- The domestic-vs-foreign filing split signals where Indian players lead - and where outside applicants dominate.
621
Startups
964
Patents
200
Granted
121
Foreign filers
3,004
Inventors
Who's filing
Indian companies lead - institutes & foreign kept separate
- INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATIONIN · 81
- MILAN MONDALIN · 16
- ANURAG VARSHNEYIN · 11
- YUVRAJ VARSHNEYIN · 11
- CHAIRMAN DEFENCE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION DRDOIN · 7
- R VELMURUGANIN · 7
Educational institutes (6) - ranked by grant rate (share of filings granted, sample-adjusted), not filing volume
- CHANDIGARH GROUP OF COLLEGES3 of 3 granted
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BOMBAY3 of 3 granted
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS3 of 5 granted
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY HYDERABAD2 of 2 granted
- SRM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY2 of 3 granted
- ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY1 of 1 granted
Foreign applicants - 16% of filings
- VIASATUS · 10
- QUALCOMMUS · 9
- ARIANEGROUPFR · 6
- ANTARISUS · 4
- ASTROSCALE ISRAELIL · 4
- ENPULSIONAT · 4
Filing trend
Chart starts at 2022 - earlier years reflect granted-only survivorship, not full filing volume.
View data
| Year | Domestic | Foreign | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 83 | 25 | 0 |
| 2023 | 101 | 26 | 7 |
| 2024 | 151 | 42 | 42 |
| 2025 | 203 | 36 | 35 |
| 2026 | 179 | 12 | 22 |
Capital in this sector
Web-sourced funding across the deep-tech startups we track - a snapshot, not a time series
89
Funded startups
~$857.8M
Total raised
~$5.2M
Median raise
6 / 7
Series A / B+
Notable funded startups
- SkyloOther · ~$183M
- Skyroot AerospaceSeries C · ~$150M
- PixxelSeries B · ~$94.7M
- DigantaraSeries B · ~$66.5M
- Garuda AerospaceSeries B · ~$49.5M
- JJG AeroSeries B · ~$42M
- AntarisSeries A · ~$31.5M
- SatSureSeries A · ~$28.9M
45 raised at seed / pre-Series A. Funding is from public sources and may contain errors - verify before relying on it. Company details, funding, stage, investors and brand names here are AI-matched to public web sources - not human-verified. Coverage is incomplete and some records may be matched to the wrong company. Treat as a directional starting point, verify before relying on any figure, and note the platform takes no responsibility for errors.
Public money in this sector
Government missions and funds, as their own releases state them
IN-SPACe Venture Capital Fund
Department of Space (IN-SPACe) · Approved by the Union Cabinet on 24 October 2024
- Fund
- ₹1,000 crore
- Deployment
- 2025-26 to 2029-30
- Startups expected
- About 40
- Growth stage ₹10-30 crore and late growth stage ₹30-60 crore per startup
- Keep space companies domiciled in India; a five-fold larger space economy in ten years
Source: PIB: Cabinet approves a ₹1,000 crore space venture fund.
A mission's own bodies and hubs, registered as not-for-profit or government companies, are not counted among the funded startups on this page. A grant or an investment a mission makes in a startup is that startup's funding.
Problems being solved
Patents mapped · click to see the filers
Technologies in play
Patents mapped
| Label | Patents |
|---|---|
| Machine Learning | 313% |
| Deep Learning | 212% |
| Satellite Communication | 192% |
| 3D Printing | 162% |
| Pressure Belt | 141% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 121% |
| Convolutional Neural Networks | 111% |
| Additive Manufacturing | 111% |
| Material Molecules | 101% |
| Cubesat | 101% |
| Adaptive Optics | 91% |
| Reinforcement Learning | 91% |
| Anomaly Detection | 81% |
| Autonomous Navigation | 81% |
| Computer Vision | 81% |
| Rocket Propulsion | 71% |
| Feature Extraction | 71% |
| Edge Computing | 61% |
| Cansat | 61% |
| Thermal Insulation | 61% |
| Thermal Imaging | 61% |
| Electric Propulsion | 61% |
| LiDAR | 61% |
| Aerospike Nozzle | 61% |
| Neural Networks | 61% |
| General Relativity | 61% |
| Remote Sensing | 61% |
| Ion Thruster | 61% |
| Sensor Fusion | 61% |
| Predictive Analytics | 51% |
Problems and technologies are grouped from each patent's text by AI, so treat the buckets as a map of what the sector works on - not an exact count. Open a bucket to see the filings behind it.
Where startups are mapped
| State | Startups mapped |
|---|---|
| Karnataka | 139 |
| Maharashtra | 81 |
| Telangana | 73 |
| Tamil Nadu | 71 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 52 |
| Gujarat | 42 |
| Delhi | 38 |
| Kerala | 21 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 17 |
| West Bengal | 17 |
| Odisha | 15 |
| Haryana | 14 |
When these companies were incorporated
404 companies with a company-register match, 57 of them with matched IP. Open a year to see the companies founded in it.
Incorporation dates come from the MCA register, which we have matched for about 69% of the deep-tech base - so this is the shape of the cohort, not a census of it. It is also not the DPIIT recognition date, which can be years later.
Startups · 15 of 621
Classified into Space by their primary technology focus (shown under each name). IP chips count a company's total matched patents, designs and trademarks - across all sectors.
GALAXEYE SPACE SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
GalaxEye, are aiming to shape the future of Satellite Image Acquisition by launching a constellation of satellites to help businesses and governments make data-driven decisions based on insights from satellite imagery. Satellite Image acquisition is an expensive process. GalaxE
Chennai
SATSURE ANALYTICS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED
Analytics
SatSure is a technology platform company, with its solutions designed at the intersection of the sustainability nexus of food, water, and energy security. By creating solutions that lie at the convergence of satellite image analytics, cloud computing, Big Data, and artificial int
Krishna
AGNIKUL COSMOS PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
Yet to be updated
Chennai
VAYUVYA RAKSHA SYSTEMS PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
Vayuvya is a research-driven technology company specializing in enterprise software, space technology, machine learning, aviation, and electronics. They offer services such as software development, startup consulting, process management, and skill training. With a team of experie
Bengaluru Urban
DHRUVA SPACE PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
Dhruva Space is an Indian Startup founded and managed by a group of entrepreneurs who previously worked with companies like Exseed Space, ams AG, Cisco & KPMG. We build application-agnostic Satellite platforms to Launch Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads (LEAP). We offer Sa
Hyderabad
THINKAGAIN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES LLP
Education
India's first techno-spiritual research company. We are specialized in technological research and development and skill development. We mainly working on Robotics, IIoT, AI, IT, AR/VR, Additive Manufacturing, and Space Technology. We are the Organizer of NASA Space apps challenge
Kolkata
VEYON IDEATIONS PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
This is a startup founded by post graduates of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. This company is focused on product innovation in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Material Technologies, and Aerospace. Founders hold a number of patents on their name and looking forward
Bengaluru Urban
ACCELERON AEROSPACE SCIENCES PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
Acceleron Aerospace is a dynamic startup focused on revolutionizing the field of space exploration and education. Our mission is to inspire and educate students of all ages, foster groundbreaking research, and develop cutting-edge space propulsion technologies for ambitious inter
Bengaluru Urban
LEAPEDGE AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
LEAPEDGE AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED IS INVOLVED IN MANUFACTURING AND INNOVATING IN AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY.
South West Delhi
ELENA GEO TECH PRIVATE LIMITED
Technology Hardware
Develop and Implement solutions in Positioning, Navigation and Timing by using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) with special orientation towards the Indian Constellation of satellites Called as the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC).
Bengaluru Urban
Guerin Technologies Private Limited
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
Guerin’s solution is a low-cost, lightweight, and stowage-efficient Space deployable helical antenna for communication applications (IoT, data relay, etc.). Our antennas use novel flexible composite material support structures configured for stowage efficiency during launch and
Bengaluru Urban
QOSMIC SATELLITE SYSTEMS PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
Qosmic is an innovative startup focused on creating decentralized solutions for the space industry. By leveraging cutting-edge blockchain technology, they aim to offer secure, transparent, and efficient systems for satellite communication, data exchange, and space asset managemen
Bengaluru
ABYOM SPACETECH & DEFENCE PVT.LTD
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
Abyom is a newly-established SpaceTech and defense startup, which plans to bring a very significant change in the Indian perspective in this space age. As you may know, many types of rockets and launch vehicles are used to send satellites into space. Till now India has been usi
Gorakhpur
AKSHATH AEROSPACE PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
Grahaa Space is a spacetech startup based out of Bangalore - working towards designing and developing a cluster of earth observation nano satellites to be launched to low earth orbit to stream near real-time live data.
Bengaluru Urban
MANASTU SPACE TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
Manastu Space started by IIT Bombay alumni in 2017 with a dream, one day every problem on the earth will be solved using space directly, indirectly or by spin-offs. We have a dream, every last person on the earth has access to world-class education and health care. No one should
Thane
Deep-tech basis: site-backed (own website fetched and read), IP-backed (patent or design filed in its own name), web-backed (described elsewhere on the open web), registry only (registry description alone). How this is decided
See all 621 mapped startups
Full rosters and startup profiles come with a subscription.
Showing 15 of 621.
Briefings on this sector
funding brief
Space Took a Quarter of the RDI Fund's First Approvals. AI Took ₹3 Crore.
We set TDB's first 22 RDI approvals against where India's deep-tech companies and patent filings are. Space took a quarter of the money from 2% of the companies on our list. AI took 0.1%. Karnataka sent nearly a third of the proposals; Gujarat sent four.
funding brief
Missions Outspend Investors 115 to 1 in Chips. In Space, Investors Lead 7 to 1.
We set ten government missions and funds against the private rounds on our record in the same sectors. In chips, quantum, critical minerals and green hydrogen, the state has committed more than every private round the sector's startups have on our record. In space, robotics, defence, health and mobility, investors have put in more. AI is close to level.
funding brief
The RDI Fund Pays Half. How Many Indian Deeptech Companies Can Raise the Other Half?
The ₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund will finance no more than half of a project; the company must find the rest. The first 22 approvals needed a median ₹101 crore each from their own or private sources. In the past year, 47 deep-tech companies on our list closed a private round of ₹100 crore or more.
funding brief
The RDI Fund's First 22 Companies: ₹2,192 Crore Approved, ₹376 Crore Paid
The Technology Development Board, the first manager to lend from India's ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund, has approved 22 companies for ₹2,192 crore against projects worth ₹4,744 crore. By 30 September it had paid ten of them ₹375.69 crore. Here is the full list, what each is building, and what our data says about them.