GalaxEye secures ₹63.8 Cr RDI Fund support for satellite tech
Bengaluru-based spacetech startup GalaxEye has secured ₹63.84 Cr in financial support under the Centre’s Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund. The Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Department of Science and Technology, will provide the support through optionally convertible debentures.
The project has a total approved cost of ₹247.69 Cr. It aims to develop an indigenous multisensor satellite capable of OptoSAR imaging at a resolution finer than 0.5 metres, taking the technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 to TRL 9.
One satellite, two ways of seeing
GalaxEye builds earth observation satellites that combine synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical (EO) imaging. Optical imaging can be affected by cloud cover and lighting conditions, while SAR can capture images through clouds and without daylight. By combining the two, the startup aims to provide high-resolution Earth observation across different weather and lighting conditions.
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The startup was founded in 2021 by Suyash Singh, Denil Chawda, Kishan Thakkar, Pranit Mehta, and Rakshit Bhatt. It has raised nearly $27 Mn to date and is incubated at IIT Madras. The company launched its maiden OptoSAR satellite under ‘Mission Drishti’ in May, though it lost communication with the satellite in July due to an anomaly linked to a geomagnetic solar storm. It is targeting the launch of two new OptoSAR satellites in the next two years.
The broader funding context
GalaxEye joins other spacetech startups backed under the ₹1 Lakh Cr RDI Fund approved in July 2025. TDB has approved 22 projects with a combined project cost of ₹4,744 Cr and ₹2,192 Cr in RDI support. In May, Dhruva Space secured ₹105 Cr under the same programme for a standardised satellite platform. Indian spacetech startups have raised nearly $250 Mn in 2026 so far, including Skyroot Aerospace’s $60 Mn round and Pixxel’s $100 Mn Series C.
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