Unlike a typical round, Skyroot has asked interested VCs to submit bids to participate in the fundraise. Post this, it will evaluate offers and decide which investors it wants to onboard
If the planned round materialises, it will mark the vindication of Skyroot’s tech stack, pave the way for rapid expansion and will bring a new crop of domestic investors on its cap table
Besides homegrown 360 One Asset, existing backers such as GIC and Temasek are also mulling participating in the round, which could close in the next two months
Barely three months after raising $60 Mn at a unicorn valuation, spacetech giant Skyroot
Aerospace is back in the market for fresh capital.
Sources told Moneycontrol that the startup has sought bids from investors for a mega $200 Mn (₹1,900 Cr) fundraise at a valuation of $2 Bn (₹19,000 Cr). This marks a nearly 80% jump from $1.1 Bn at which the startup was last pegged in May this year.
Unlike a typical funding round, Skyroot has reportedly asked interested investors to submit bids to participate in the fundraise. Once the bids are in, the spacetech unicorn will then reportedly evaluate offers and decide which investors it wants to onboard.
Skyroot plans to close the round over the next two months, with the startup keen on onboarding domestic investors to its cap table. Besides homegrown 360 One Asset, existing backers such as GIC and Temasek are also reportedly mulling participating in the round.
“The company’s ask is for a $2 Bn valuation, and a likely total fundraise of around $200 Mn, but plans are constantly evolving, which may result in a few changes over the coming weeks,” a source reportedly said.
Kotak is said to be helming the process of raising funds for Skyroot. If the fundraise materialises within the aforementioned two months, this will be the unicorn’s second round in less than six months.
Queries sent to Skyroot Aerospace elicited no response at the time of publishing. This story will be updated upon receiving comments from the startup.
The development comes weeks after Skyroot became the first private Indian company to put a rocket into Earth’s orbit. Its Vikram-1 launch vehicle successfully injected customer payloads from both domestic and international customers into the intended 450-km Low Earth Orbit (LEO) after completing all major flight events.
Standing seven storeys tall, Vikram-1 is a four-stage launch vehicle capable of carrying payloads of up to 480 kg to LEO and 290 kg to Sun Synchronous Orbit. The rocket combines solid propulsion across its first three stages with a liquid-propellant orbital adjustment stage, besides incorporating 3D-printed engines and pneumatic stage separation systems.
Founded in 2018 by former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, Skyroot develops modular launch vehicles for the global small satellite market. The startup’s 2 lakh sq ft Infinity Campus in Hyderabad has the capacity to manufacture one orbital rocket every month.
It has raised more than $150 Mn in funding to date and counts the likes of marquee names such as Sherpalo Ventures, Temasek and BlackRock as investors.
Following the successful maiden mission, Skyroot plans up to two more Vikram-1 launches this year before introducing Vikram-1U, an upgraded version with strap-on boosters, in the first quarter of 2027. It is also developing Vikram-2, a one-tonne-class launch vehicle powered by a cryogenic upper stage, to expand its launch vehicle portfolio.
At the heart of all this is the Indian spacetech economy, which is projected to become a $77 Bn market by 2030.
Source: Inc42 - Startups
