Dhruva Space Raises INR 22 Cr Led By IAN Fund And Blue Ashva Capital Space technology startup Dhruva Space will utilise the capital to expand its operations globally, including entering markets such as the United States and Middle East
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Dhruva Space, an end-to-end space engineering solutions provider, recently announced to have raised INR 22 crore led by IAN Fund and Blue Ashva Capital.
The space startup is gearing up to launch new offerings like Satellite as a Service, Space-Grade Solar Arrays and Ground Station Solutions, both nationally & globally.
Headquartered in Hyderabad and Austria, the company is already executing orders worth several million dollars and is well set to expand its client base to other key locations, including the US and Middle East.
"We are the only Indian private entity to secure an order for end-to-end Design and Development of Space-Qualified Solar Arrays for Satellites. With our passion for creating exceptional small satellite systems to help space exploration technology meet human imagination, we are already working on launching our first satellite for a client. We are glad that the latest funding came at the right time. This fundraise will enable us to launch new solutions and expand our footprint to more unique markets both nationally and internationally," shared Sanjay Nekkanti, co-founder, Dhruva Space.
The current space ecosystem is ripe for innovation. The creation and maintenance of space assets today is a herculean task that prevents rapid growth in the space frontier. Space customers have to go through a cumbersome process of building satellites, acquiring launch services, and maintaining ground systems for data management which may not be part of their core strength. Dhruva Space solves this problem through its proprietary Full-Stack Space Engineering Solutions. The company offers modular application-agnostic satellite platforms to enable faster, reliable, and cost-effective access to Space. Coupled with providing launch and ground station services, Dhruva Space also provides integrated one-stop access to the clients in owning and operating space-based assets, it said.
"Over the next decade, it is estimated that nearly 30,000 satellites will be launched into orbit. To enable such rapid and large-scale deployment of space assets, there needs to be a fundamental change in how the satellites are designed, manufactured, and launched. This is where Dhruva Space steps in –offering Full-stack Space Engineering Solutions for Satellite Platforms, Launch planning, and Ground Data Reception. Dhruva's solutions are tailored to meet mission requirements and is well positioned to be a category leader. We are delighted partner with the excellent passionate co-founder team of Sanjay, Abhay, Krishna and Chaitanya," said Padmaja Ruparel, co-founder, IAN.
The company is already active across Space, Launch, and Ground segments and supports both Civil and Defense clients worldwide. The company has several firsts to its name such as being the first Indian private company to secure an order for end-to-end Design and Development of Space-Qualified Solar Arrays for Satellites. Dhruva Space is also the first and currently the only Indian private entity with both satellite & launcher interfaces, the company said.
"India is increasingly becoming a global space-tech hub given her technological prowess and cost leadership. This new era of Indian spacetech is reminiscent of India's IT revolution and shows a bright future ahead for homegrown Space companies to compete at a global scale. We are delighted to partner with Sanjay, Abhay, Krishna, Chaitanya and the entire Dhruva Space team to be a leading Space-tech solution provider to local and global customers," added Satya Bansal, founder, Blue Ashva Capital.
The company has already started to foster industry-academia collaborations and have already collaborated with BITS -Hyderabad, and the Indian Institute of Technology – Hyderabad. The company is incubated in European Space Agency's Business Incubation Centre in Austria, providing them access to the European Market and Technology.
