India's space tech boom: Startups, skills in demand, and more

“The recently-launched Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1 missions prove the significant strides we have taken to further space exploration,” says Sanjay Nekkanti , Chief Executive Officer and co-founder at Dhruva Space . What could future missions look like? “Exploration of celestial bodies, or even human spaceflight, further validating India as a space nation,” he adds.

India’s space tech sector raised $126 million in funding in 2023 — a 7% jump over 2022, and a 235% increase over 2021, according to Tracxn data, The Times of India reports. More than 100 companies now operate in the space, adds the report, and they are on the hunt for the right talent to realise their ambitions.

Agnikul plans to increase its workforce by 25% in FY25, bolstering its engineering and operations team, reports The Economic Times. Pixxel intends to hire 70-100 people, a majority of whom will be engineers working on satellite, avionics, embedded software, among other focus areas, said CEO Awais Ahmed . Companies like Skyroot Aerospace and Digantara are also on workforce expansion mode, adds the report. SatSure plans to hire 30-40 people, while Dhruva Space is looking to double or triple its employee count in the coming year.

What skills will help professionals stand out??

“Space is multidisciplinary; therefore expertise extends beyond technical roles to include critical non-technical functions such as legal, regulatory, business development, marketing and public relations, portfolio management, and risk assessment,” says Krishna Teja Penamakuru , Chief Operations Officer and co-founder at Dhruva Space.?

Leadership talent is also in demand in the space — and skills like risk management, portfolio management, advocacy and influence, communication, partner management, and learning agility are sought after, according to Jaideep Kewalramani , Head of Employability Business and COO at TeamLease Edtech , The Economic Times reports.

“Space is an unforgiving environment where even small mistakes can have big consequences. Because satellites are incredibly complex machines requiring multiple subsystems to work in harmony, the first few things we try to judge a prospective candidate on are their honesty, transparency, and the ability to work effectively in teams,” says Kshitij Khandelwal , founder and CTO at Pixxel .?

Khandelwal adds that they also consider what extra projects candidates have worked on — projects that show their interest and willingness to tackle tough challenges. “We’re looking at people who enjoy working on challenging problems and not fear them. As long as these qualities are clear, we don't really care about the university the candidate attended or their grades,” he adds.

With the need for more talent in the sector, educational institutes are also in focus. The All India Council for Technical Education and industry body Indian Space Association signed a memorandum of understanding this month to nurture the early generation of space engineers, reports Livemint. Space tech courses are also cropping up across introductory, bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD levels, The Times of India reports.

Even as startups and innovation take off in the sector, challenges remain.

“Space startups are capital-intensive businesses. Most space companies require five to seven years before they have the infrastructure in place to generate stable recurring revenue. This contrasts sharply with the rapid returns traditionally seen in software startups, creating a misalignment with traditional investor expectations,” says Khandelwal. He adds that of the few funds in India that are open to investing in hardware and space tech, even fewer have the capability to continue funding companies into later-stage rounds, making it challenging for space startups.

AgniKul Cosmos ’s co-founder Srinath Ravichandran says in an interview with Outlook Business , “I think the challenge is not just scaling, but scaling with quality.” When you start scaling and doing multiple things, the quality tends to take a beating, but there can be no such thing as a low-quality space product, he adds.

What’s on the horizon for India’s space tech sector?

“The achievements of the Indian Space Programme are a precursor of what’s to come over the next five years. India is already a favoured launch destination for many international space companies such as Planet Labs and OneWeb, due to the frequent, reliable and cost-effective access to space – and I expect this will go strength to strength in the coming years,” says Nekkanti.

India’s space ecosystem is expanding with innovation in satellite manufacturing, launch services, and ground systems, Akash Yalagach , CTO and co-founder of KaleidEO shares in an interview with Financial Express. The sector is also contributing to applications in agriculture, disaster management, communication, and environmental monitoring, he adds.

More than 520 private companies and research institutions are actively contributing to India’s space economy, which could touch $44 billion by 2033 — claiming 10% of the global market share, reports Businessworld , citing Treelife data.

“India's growing economic influence and geopolitical importance could translate into a more prominent role in the global space ecosystem, especially as space activities become increasingly intertwined with national security and economic interests. India has already had such dialogue with countries including but not limited to the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Chile,” says Nekkanti.

He also anticipates a groundswell of international partnerships to foster shared innovation, allowing India to contribute to and benefit from global space initiatives.?

Khandelwal adds that if the technology, funding, and regulatory environment continue to move at their current pace, most startups building launch and earth observation capabilities today will hopefully mature to the point of self-sufficiency. “We should also have a healthier upstream ecosystem that reduces dependency on specialised parts that need to be imported,” he adds.

India’s startups raised $6.3 billion in funding between January and July —an almost 43% year-on-year increase in funding, according to GlobalData, reports Business Standard. Top fundraisers include Zepto’s $665-million funding, Meesho securing $300 million, and PharmEasy’s $216 million round, adds the report.

As the ecosystem sees gradual recovery and investors remain optimistic about India’s potential, what do India’s future founders need to know to build for the country?

“None of our funda is going to work,” says Anubhav Dubey , co-founder of Chai Sutta Bar . His advice to India’s future founders? “Jump into the market and try and test, because I truly believe the biggest guru of the market is the market itself.”

"In the last 15 years, many consumer problems have been solved, and convenience-first companies have been built. However, most of these startups have focused on building solutions for the top 10% of the income class (income range of 25L+) residing in urban India," writes Anand Daniel , Partner at Accel in India , in an article on LinkedIn. ?

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Reported by: Isha Chitnis

Community Manager: Raunak Ramteke Rakshit Ravindranathan