Skyroot Aerospace Raises $27.5 Million from Singapore and Temasek

India and Skyroot Aerospace said on Oct 30 they had raised $27.5 million in a new funding round led by Singapore and Temasek, boosting the country and its nascent space industry, days after rival Agnikul Cosmos raised a similar amount. Skyroot, which was founded in 2018, said the latest fundraising of 2.25 billion rupees would help it bring it to market faster.

The Hyderabad-based startup, which launched India's first private rocket in 2022, plans to launch its second commercial rocket, the Vikram-I, next year. The launch vehicle can carry loads weighing up to 300 kilograms into low earth orbit. The funding comes as another space company, Agnikul Cosmos, said it had raised $26.7 million in new funding ahead of its first rocket launch, as private space companies benefit from the successful landing of an Indian spacecraft on the moon.

Skyroot has raised $95 million so far, while Agnik has raised $40 million. Skyroot declined to say what the company's most recent fundraising was. “As we prepare to launch our second mission early next year, this new funding will allow us to accelerate future launches planned over the next two years,” Skyroot founder Pawan Kumar Chandana said.

Chandana told Reuters in August that the company was targeting at least two launches starting in 2024, citing the success of India's moon mission and Chandrayaan-3 as a boost for the country and the private space industry.