Skyroot Aerospace raises $51 million from Singapore’s GIC: all the details

Skyroot Aerospace on Friday revealed that it has raised $51 million (roughly Rs 400 crore) from a Singapore-based investor, according to a report. The startup will use the funds to build the country’s first private space launch vehicles (SLVs) and accelerate the firm’s plans to launch heavy payloads into low-Earth orbit. It plans to launch commercial satellite launches by mid-2023 and has signed a data and expertise sharing agreement with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), according to a report.

Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace on Friday said it has raised $51 million (roughly Rs 400 crore) from venture capital firm GIC (Government of Singapore Investment Corporation), which led its latest funding round. Report via Reuters. The company plans to achieve full commercial satellite launch scale within a year.

Skyroot Aerospace wants to start commercial satellite launches by mid-2023. Its SLV is constructed from carbon fiber and is said to support payloads as heavy as 800kg. According to the report, the firm has started booking slots to launch the payload.

Back in June, there were major developments in the country’s space privatization initiatives. These include ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) carrying payloads of two Indian space startups and the launch of the first demand-driven satellite ordered by Tata Play, according to PTI.

An earlier study by the Center for Development Studies and the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology pegged India’s space economy at $5 billion (roughly Rs. 39,860 crore) for the 2020-21 financial year, according to the report.