Will Indian space tech startups take off successfully?
Elon Musk and SpaceX are the most iconic and well-known names in the space-tech industry; while they have no real private competitors, one may emerge from a long list of Indian space-tech startups. While the space tech sector in India remains relatively unknown, it is slowly growing to make an impact that will be felt around the world.
Potential
Indian startups currently make up 2% of the global private space-tech industry, according to the Minister Counsellor for Economic, Environment, Science and Technology affairs, US Embassy. These startups have a lot of potential in terms of catering to a global market like how the IT & BT sectors do. This potential is due to more countries getting into the space race without having the logistics and infrastructure to do so. According to a report by the Wilson Centre, around 72 countries have space agencies, but only 14 have the potential to launch satellites.
The Indian space sector does have a track record of carrying satellites for other countries. ISRO (Indian space research organisation) launched 104 satellites from 6 different countries!! India has been actively finding methods to make space travel cost-effective and sustainable. This could help out establish dominance and become the preferred centre for space tech.
Merging of the public and private
Until recent times space tech had been under the exclusive domain of the government. This is slowly changing, with space-tech startups popping up all over the country. The Indian government body for regulating the private space sector, IN-SPACe, has received around 125 proposals from start-ups within 15 months. 13 of these startups have MOUs with ISRO to share information, technology, and infrastructure. All in all, the private and public sectors are working with each other to build a sustainable space tech ecosystem of startups.
Flow of investment
Space tech is growing popular among investors. According to data from Tracxn, in the year 2021, funding for this segment grew by an enormous 198.67 %. Skyroot Aerospace benefited the most from this inflow; they received $51 million in series B funding. Skyroot aims to make spaceflight “affordable, reliable, and regular”. The potential in this sector being recognised by investors and government authorities alike may result in startups of this segment emulating the Fintech sector and churning out unicorns.
