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Time of India
25-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Isro ex-engineers launch A'bad into space race
Ahmedabad's space technology sector is breaking new frontiers with startups founded by former Isro engineers collectively raising $5.3 million (Rs 45 crore), positioning the city as a serious contender in India's commercial space race. SatLeo Labs recently closed a $3.3 million (Rs 28 crore) pre-seed funding round led by Merak Ventures, with Huddle Ventures as a major investor and additional participation from GVFL, Java Capital, IIMA Ventures, Point One Capital and several angel investors. The thermal imaging satellite startup said it has already secured over $25 million in letters of intent from potential clients. Following closely, PierSight announced a $2 million (Rs 17 crore) funding round from Crescent Enterprises Ventures, Sustainable Ocean Alliance and Seabird Ventures, bringing its total investment to $8 million — among the largest initial investments for Indian spacetech startups. The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) company had its payload aboard ISRO's PSLV C60 SpaDeX mission earlier this year. The third player, Orbitt Space, launched in 2025 by former Isro scientists Christopher Parmar and Anupam Kumar, is currently in the process of raising funds for its ultra-low Earth orbit (ULEO) satellite propulsion technology. These three spacetech startups are connected by two factors, besides being based in Ahmedabad — they all have co-founders with experience from Isro's Space Applications Centre (SAC) in the city and they are incubated at IIMA Ventures. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Notably, Ahmedabad has one of the two centres for Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) supporting commercial space activities. Experts said that while the money part is crucial for the founders who often take a leap of faith with their ideas, the important outcome is the emergence of the city as a vital spacetech hub with a conducive ecosystem. SatLeo founders said that the funds will be utilized to advance the development of its proprietary thermal imaging payload, conduct critical feasibility studies and secure regulatory approvals. Additionally, the capital will support team expansion, infrastructure setup and pilot testing, enabling the startup to validate its technology and strengthen industry partnerships. The firm's chief technology officer (CTO), Dr Ranendu Ghosh, is a former Isro engineer and former dean at DAIICT. "Thermal imagery from space is still vastly underutilized and its commercial applications are only set to grow in ways we may not yet fully grasp. We are backing them for a genuine tech breakthrough that makes thermal data more useful, accessible and affordable," said Sheetal Bahl, partner at Merak Ventures. For PierSight, the current round of investments takes the total investment to $8 million (Rs 68 crore), making them among the Indian spacetech startups with some of the biggest initial investment. The startup is pioneering use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for ocean surveillance including keeping track of vessels, illegal activities, oil spills or even under-sea pipelines and internet cables. In a post, the founders explained that the investments have helped them make new connections with those on the frontline of space and ocean intersection. The Sustainable Ocean Alliance and venture arm Seabird Ventures is backing the startups tackling oceans' biggest challenges globally, whereas CE Ventures is part of the conglomerate operating some of the largest ports in Middle East. Gaurav Seth, CEO and co-founder of PierSight who worked at Isro for eight years on technologies such as ground-penetrating radar and synthetic aperture radar (GPR/SAR), said that the recognition at national and global level helps the city in finding its feet as a spacetech hub. "It is a close-knit community that supports each other. Thus, be it SatLeo or Orbitt, everyone gets the benefit of experience and extensive network. If we scale up, it will also help the peripheral industries and suppliers. The investment and support will go a long way," he said. PierSight's co-founder and CTO Vinit Bansal is an application engineer who worked with a prominent supplier to Isro. Orbitt Space is the latest entrant in the spacetech startup ecosystem in the city. Its co-founder, Parmar, a native of Anand, Gujarat, interned at Isro for a year and then got selected as scientist/engineer afterwards. In his eight-year stint, he worked in verticals such as geocommunication, navigation and opto-quantum communication, satellite payload power systems among others. Kumar, his friend and co-founder, is also an experienced hand with years of satellite testing experience at Isro in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. "We are pioneering propulsion system technology that will extend satellite lifetimes significantly and unlock the enormous potential of ULEO for applications that demand high-resolution imaging and enhanced data capabilities. It is a cutting-edge technology and is in different stages of development in other countries across the globe," said Parmar.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Women occupy just 7% of executive roles across 121 unicorns in India: Report
In boardrooms and leadership meetings across India's unicorn ecosystem, a pattern continues to emerge. Startups may have reshaped industries and created new opportunities, but the representation of women at the top remains weak. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack PM Modi-led 'Super Cabinet' reviews J&K security arrangements Pakistan's General Asim Munir is itching for a fight. Are his soldiers willing? India planning to launch military strike against Pakistan within 24 to 36 hours, claims Pak minister According to an analysis by staffing consultany Longhouse, women make up a meagre 7% of executive roles across 121 unicorn startups in India. This includes founders, cofounders, chief technology officers, chief information officers, etc, who shape high-level tech strategy and decision-making. 'The issue of low female representation starts with the talent pipeline, which is limited due to low female enrolment in engineering education. Startups get a small pool to begin with,' Rohit Srivastava, senior partner at Longhouse, said. Most of the female talent, about 79%, seems concentrated in mid-senior level positions like heads and directors, contributing to execution and team management. 'The transition from middle management to CXO roles often demands sponsors — not just mentors — who advocate for women at decision-making tables,' Priyanka Chopra, managing partner at seed investment firm IIMA Ventures, told ET. 'Also, the demands of leadership can sometimes be harder to navigate alongside the broader societal expectations still disproportionately placed on women,' she added. Live Events A smaller segment of 14% holds vice president and senior vice president positions, overseeing major tech functions and strategic initiatives. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Ruchi Kalra, cofounder of two unicorns, OfBusiness and Oxyzo, said the situation is much better than when she started her entrepreneurial journey two decades ago, in terms of women at middle and senior levels. 'More structured programmes in existing organisations, where venture capitalists and private equity investors are active, and more rounded leadership development programmes will nurture middle-level talent to rise to leadership positions in the coming five years. So, we mustn't lose this talent now that we have raised them up in organisations,' Kalra said. The report also notes that the youngest unicorns in India, those founded between 2020 and 2024, have the weakest representation of women in top leadership roles, with female professionals occupying about 1% of senior positions. During this period, 87 startups became unicorns. In 2020, 12 companies attained a $1-billion valuation, followed by 45 in 2021 (a record high), 22 in 2022, two in 2023 and six in 2024. Companies founded between 2008 and 2013 have the highest share of women CXOs, at about 49%. In terms of functions, women tech leaders are majorly in product roles, indicating strong representation in product strategy, management, and development. This is followed by engineering (33%) and design (13%). Artificial intelligence (AI) and data science roles, which have seen a surge in the job market in the past few years, see a mere 4% presence of female talent. Srivastava said AI jobs are new, so the talent pool is limited as of now, and may not necessarily suggest a gender-based bias. Chopra hypothesised that product management is cross-functional and user-centric, which values not just technical skills but also empathy, collaboration, and communication — areas where many women excel. 'In contrast, fields like engineering, AI, and data science continue to have heavily male-dominated talent pipelines starting right from the undergraduate level,' she said. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and deep tech startups lead the way with about 31% of top tech roles occupied by women. Ecommerce and direct-to-consumer startups follow at 28%, and fintech at 17%. The report also reveals that about 40% of women tech leaders have no prior startup experience and about 15% have a moderate 1-3 years of experience in the ecosystem.
Mint
23-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
IIMA Ventures to increase cheque sizes for pre-seed startups with greater focus on deep-tech space
Early-stage venture capital platform IIMA Ventures plans to double its pre-seed and seed investment cheques up to $500,000 compared with the usual amounts of $50,000 to $200,000, top officials at the firm said. 'Startups in the pre-seed and seed stage often require a continuum of capital ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 to truly unlock their potential," Priyanka Chopra, chief executive and managing partner at IIMA Ventures, told Mint , explaining the firm's rationale. 'By expanding our investment capacity, we're better positioned to meet founders where they are and fuel their growth from day zero." The firm will use its own funds and will also tie up with other organisations, as it has in the past. 'We are working with other organisations to create common pools of capital. It's not necessary that everything will be done in the form of an alternative investment fund," Chopra said. The VC firm, set up at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad as a Centre of Excellence with support from the Department of Science and Technology and the government of Gujarat, plans to make 40 to 50 investments this year, with a large weightage on the deep-tech sector. The remaining cheques will be written for startups in the climate tech and digital inclusion spaces. The decision to increase cheque sizes for pre-seed startups comes in the backdrop of commerce minister Piyush Goyal's remarks in New Delhi earlier this month when he said India needed more deep-tech innovations than quick-commerce solutions in order to stay competitive in the global market. The early-stage firm had tied up with Small Industries Development Bank of India in 2023 to create a ₹ 40 crore fund to invest in deep-tech startups. The firm has written 10 cheques so far from that fund for companies including fabless semiconductor manufacturer Morphing Machines and Cancrie, a startup building nanocarbon for batteries from coconut shells. 'We are very hopeful that we will deploy their entire capital in the next 18-odd months," said Chopra. IIMA Ventures' deep-tech portfolio has eight to 10 space tech companies, including Agnikul and Bellatrix Aerospace. This year, the firm shifted focus to aerospace a little more deeply and invested in Nabhdrishti Aerospace, which builds gas turbines used in aviation and power generation. The Ahmedabad-based firm said its moat lies in developing relationships with companies in the very early days, even before a product is realised. 'We build our relationship with them either through a studio mechanism or on a one-on-one basis with the founder. We make sure that we are on their minds before they start so then we become their first port of call," said Vipul Patel, head of seed investing at IIMA Ventures. Patel also sees manufacturing as a key interest area in deep tech. 'If you look at it as a horizontal, or even parts of it like space, robotics and even defence, and advanced material advancements we see that there is a large opportunity there," he said. In climate tech, the focus is on sustainability in industrial settings with decarbonisation as the larger theme. The firm has invested in EcoRatings and Free Spirits Green Labs and plans additional investments. 'Green material advancement is a category where we are expanding our portfolio," Patel said. Under digital inclusion investments for the year, IIMA Ventures is looking at startups that build targeted financial services products. 'One can create as many products as one wants, but if there is no trust, then adoption is going to be limited. Beyond a point, for product innovations to scale, there needs to be trust and stability. That's why customer protection is so important to us," said Chopra.
