India-based Pixxel receives $36M in funding round led by Google
India’s space economy to reach $13B by 2025
Satellite-imaging startup Pixxel is receiving $36 million in a funding round led by Google’s India Digitalization Fund, which targets India-based startups for investments. Contributing to the round were venture firms Lightspeed and Radical Ventures, which had also previously invested in Pixxel. Lightspeed raised $700,000 in pre-seed funding for Pixxel in 2020 and Radical Ventures led a $25 million funding round for the startup in 2022.
The series B round brings the Bengaluru, Karnataka-based company’s total raised funding to $69 million, according to Crunchbase.
Pixxel will use the money to further develop its hyperspectral satellite constellation, which will be used to deliver “actionable climate insights on a planetary scale.,” the company said in a release. The funds will also help to develop the company’s artificial intelligence-powered analytics platform, Aurora, and to aid in its plans to launch six satellites in 2024 and 18 more by 2025.
“With this round of funding, we are even closer now to realizing our mission of building a health monitor for the planet, and empowering people around the world to make informed decisions about our collective well-being,” Awais Ahmed, co-founder and chief executive of Pixxel, said in a press release.
Pixxel could not be reached for further comment.
The company has originated deals over the past year as it ramps up launch plans. Pixxel chose space hardware company Dawn Aerospace in February to provide propulsion for its hyperspectral satellite imaging constellation.
In its first-quarter 2022 investor update, launch service provider Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) also listed Pixxel’s constellation as one of several smallsat constellations it supported.
India’s space sector is expected to see considerable growth in the coming years. A 2022 report from consulting firm Ernst & Young stated India’s space economy is expected to grow to $13 billion by 2025.
