Space start-up Digantara raises $2.5 mn in funding from Kalaari Capital

Homegrown space tech start-up Digantara has managed to raise $2.5 million in seed funding from Kalaari Capital. Bengaluru-based start-up with the help of this funding plans to accelerate its product development and launch its first demonstration satellite.

The space tech start-up, which is founded by Anirudh Sharma and Rahul Rawat, plans to build a space situational awareness platform that will help satellites in lower earth orbit to avoid space debris and reduce the risk of collision with other satellites as well.

“Just like aviation, space inevitably requires an efficient traffic management system. At Digantara, we are pioneering an active surveillance technology-based in space to provide precise orbital insights to ensure continued safe space operations,” Digantara’s co-founder and CEO Anirudh Sharma told The Economic Times.

The startup plans to use a hybrid mechanism of tracking objects using its own satellites, unlike today’s mechanisms which are largely done from the ground or using satellites' sensors.

“This funding will add more fuel to our spaceflight payload development and accelerate the launch of our first mission,” Sharma added.

Apart from providing precise orbital insights to satellite operators, Digantara also claims to provide space weather monitoring capabilities to yield far more accurate prediction models.

Digantara has also received a Rs 50 lakh grant from the Indian Space Research Organisation after winning in one of the Aatmanirbhar Atal New India Challenges.