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BENGALURU: Digantara, a space situational awareness (SSA) firm headquartered in Bengaluru, on Tuesday said it has raised $10 million in a Series A1 funding round to develop its Space-mission Assurance Platform (Space-MAP).
“The round was led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) with participation from Kalaari Capital. This round also includes participation from Global Brains, a Japan-based venture capital firm, Campus Fund, and the founders of IIFL Wealth. The company had also raised a seed round of $2.5 million from Kalaari Capital in 2021,” the firm said.
Digantara co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Anirudh Sharma said they’ll invest heavily in launching space-tech infrastructure to track previously unobservable objects and significantly increase data points.
“This will empower stakeholders with comprehensive insights for efficient decision-making in an increasingly complex space environment. We’re grateful to have the support and unwavering belief of world-class investors who share our vision. Their backing is a testament to the transformative potential of our mission to make space sustainable,” he said.
Pointing out that inadequate tracking capabilities of objects in Earth’s orbit has left 96% of the one-million objects currently in orbit untracked, Digantara said these objects are large enough to cause damage to spacecraft but small enough to go undetected.
“With space becoming more congested and contested, there is a pressing need for an infrastructure layer that enables safer space operations. Digantara intends to enable sustainable and safer space operations by building a comprehensive infrastructure powered by its multi-modal data pool,” the firm said.
Shailesh Lakhani, managing director (MD) of Peak XV Partners, said Digantara, which is working towards creating the most advanced SSA data collection infrastructure, believes that this will lead to significant capability in the life cycle of managing satellites, which is a rapidly growing market.
“Over the years Digantara has solidified its position as a global space company. It has recently expanded to Singapore. As part of its infrastructural endeavours, Digantara has commenced the development of India’s first commercial SSA optical observatory in Uttarakhand. This observatory will play a crucial role in enhancing the nation’s space and SSA capabilities. The firm also recently launched two missions that served as the space weather testbed,” the firm said.
The fresh capital infusion, it added, will allow it to deploy the first phase of its space-based surveillance satellite constellation.
“The capital will also allow the company to accelerate the development of its downstream SSA service with the aim to offer them in a comprehensive manner by Q2 2024. Digantara is steadfast in its commitment to empowering governments, organisations and satellite operators with cutting-edge solutions,” it said.
“The round was led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) with participation from Kalaari Capital. This round also includes participation from Global Brains, a Japan-based venture capital firm, Campus Fund, and the founders of IIFL Wealth. The company had also raised a seed round of $2.5 million from Kalaari Capital in 2021,” the firm said.
Digantara co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Anirudh Sharma said they’ll invest heavily in launching space-tech infrastructure to track previously unobservable objects and significantly increase data points.
“This will empower stakeholders with comprehensive insights for efficient decision-making in an increasingly complex space environment. We’re grateful to have the support and unwavering belief of world-class investors who share our vision. Their backing is a testament to the transformative potential of our mission to make space sustainable,” he said.
Pointing out that inadequate tracking capabilities of objects in Earth’s orbit has left 96% of the one-million objects currently in orbit untracked, Digantara said these objects are large enough to cause damage to spacecraft but small enough to go undetected.
“With space becoming more congested and contested, there is a pressing need for an infrastructure layer that enables safer space operations. Digantara intends to enable sustainable and safer space operations by building a comprehensive infrastructure powered by its multi-modal data pool,” the firm said.
Shailesh Lakhani, managing director (MD) of Peak XV Partners, said Digantara, which is working towards creating the most advanced SSA data collection infrastructure, believes that this will lead to significant capability in the life cycle of managing satellites, which is a rapidly growing market.
“Over the years Digantara has solidified its position as a global space company. It has recently expanded to Singapore. As part of its infrastructural endeavours, Digantara has commenced the development of India’s first commercial SSA optical observatory in Uttarakhand. This observatory will play a crucial role in enhancing the nation’s space and SSA capabilities. The firm also recently launched two missions that served as the space weather testbed,” the firm said.
The fresh capital infusion, it added, will allow it to deploy the first phase of its space-based surveillance satellite constellation.
“The capital will also allow the company to accelerate the development of its downstream SSA service with the aim to offer them in a comprehensive manner by Q2 2024. Digantara is steadfast in its commitment to empowering governments, organisations and satellite operators with cutting-edge solutions,” it said.
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