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Agnikul Cosmos is the most valuable new space startup in India right now, having raised $17 million in funding from institutional investors and family offices, with a valuation of $500 million. The infusion of capital will be used to scale production units of space-grade components for the recoverable launcher. Agnibaan is developing a two-stage to orbit (TSTO) launcher with a recoverable first stage booster, and an upper stage that can host payloads after deploying passengers to become a satellite itself. Rocket stages are typically discarded after use, but Agnibaan's sustainable design ensures that no part of the hardware is wasted.
CEO and Co-founder of AgniKul Cosmos, Srinath Ravichandran said “Given our previous successful controlled ascent launch that allowed us to demonstrate all our patented technologies with ISRO and IN-SPACe support, we have now been able to scale our strategy to include lower stage recovery and upper stage extension – features that will make the unit economics of launch services much better. This fund raise allows us to work on such missions while also focusing on scaling launch frequency and building for the world, from India.” Agnibaan now has a chance to develop and operate the first reusable launcher in the world for small satellites.
Agnikul Cosmos is planning to develop an integrated space campus for the end-to-end manufacturing and testing of launch vehicle systems on 350 acres of land allocated by the Tamil Nadu government, located close to Kulasekharapatnam where ISRO is constructing India's second spaceport, dedicated to launching small satellites. Agnikul Cosmos recently inaugurated a metal additive manufacturing unit to 3D print its engines along with additional components. Cofounder and COO of Agnikul, Moin SPM says, "With growing demand and more than a dozen customers eager to launch with us, scaling our operational depth was the natural next step. The indigenous facility which is planned near the new upcoming launchpad of India will equip us to serve these missions on schedule and with the responsiveness the market expects."
