India’s Digantara raises $50M for space-based missile defence tech

Digantara, an Indian abstraction surveillance startup, has raised $50 cardinal successful a caller backing circular arsenic it moves beyond abstraction situational consciousness into rocket tracking, citing increasing request from governments for space-based defence capabilities.

The all-equity Series B circular included caller investors specified arsenic 360 ONE Asset and SBI Investments of Japan, arsenic good arsenic serial entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala, with existing backers Peak XV Partners and Kalaari Capital besides participating. The backing comes much than 2 years aft the startup’s $10 cardinal Series A1 round, bringing its full superior raised to $64.5 million.

Globally, governments are investing much heavy successful space-based surveillance and early-warning systems arsenic rocket launches and outer interference go much frequent, with galore seeking faster detection than accepted ground-based radar tin provide. Digantara aims to pat that marketplace by utilizing its space- and ground-based infrared sensors on with software-based analytics and intelligence.

Founded successful 2020, the Bengaluru-headquartered startup initially focused connected abstraction situational awareness, tracking debris and objects that could harm satellites. The startup has since expanded its scope to see rocket detection and tracking, gathering connected the space- and ground-based sensing and analytics technologies it developed for abstraction surveillance, its laminitis and main enforcement Anirudh Sharma (pictured above) said successful an interview.

Digantara launched its archetypal abstraction surveillance satellite, SCOT (Space Camera for Object Tracking), successful January aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission, enabling space-to-space observation. A period later, the startup opened an bureau successful Colorado Springs arsenic portion of its propulsion into the U.S. defence market, a determination that has since led to contracts with U.S. Space Command for analytics-as-a-service. Its U.S. entity has besides been selected for the Missile Defense Agency’s SHIELD declaration vehicle, which supports next-generation rocket defence programmes.

“Given we’ve already built IR sensors, we are present extending our IR capabilities to different domains similar mid- and long-wave infrared,” Sharma told TechCrunch.

Digantara has divided its operations crossed geographies to conscionable nationalist information requirements. Its U.S. squad is focused connected gathering larger satellites and spacecraft successful the 100-kilogram people tailored to American defence needs, portion its India cognition concentrates connected analytics, information processing, and abstraction situational awareness. The operation reflects the regulatory realities of defence procurement, wherever delicate systems indispensable beryllium designed and built domestically for each market.

Digantara has truthful acold closed contracts with a combined worth of astir $25 million, Sharma told TechCrunch. The startup presently operates crossed India, Singapore, and the U.S., and plans to grow into Europe by mounting up a section entity determination arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2026.

In India, Digantara operates a 25,000-square-foot manufacturing installation susceptible of producing up to 5 satellites simultaneously, and plans to standard that capableness significantly. The startup has signed a memorandum of knowing with the authorities authorities of Andhra Pradesh to acceptable up a larger installation that could manufacture arsenic galore arsenic 30 satellites astatine once, which it aims to bring online adjacent year.

Digantara has already been selected arsenic the winning bidder for authorities defence tenders successful India and is completing administrative formalities earlier enactment begins, Sharma said.

Through 2026–27, Digantara plans to grow its space- and ground-based infrastructure, including further electro-optical and LiDAR satellites for abstraction surveillance, space-based sensors for aboriginal rocket informing and tracking, and a larger web of ground-based observatories, the institution said. It is besides exploring the imaginable usage of its LiDAR and laser technologies for aboriginal interceptor systems, Sharma asserted.

Digantara plans to motorboat different outer done SpaceX successful March, followed by further launches successful June and October, with aggregate satellites scheduled for the second mission. The institution aims to deploy a full of 15 satellites implicit the adjacent 2 years, Sharma said.

The latest funding, helium noted, volition enactment those launches, with astir $7–$10 cardinal earmarked for enlargement successful the United States and astir $2–$3 cardinal acceptable speech to found operations successful Europe, portion the remainder volition beryllium utilized to standard its India-based manufacturing and operations.

Digantara has seen revenues turn much than tenfold implicit the past 2 years, Sharma said, declining to disclose existent figures. He added that the institution is targeting yearly revenues of $25–$30 cardinal implicit the adjacent 18 months arsenic defence and authorities enactment ramps up.

The startup presently employs astir 125 people, including astir 80 to 85 engineers.