Latest news with #SpecialeInvest
Nikkei Asia
13-05-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
India's deep tech startups fight for funding in a retail-dominated market
BENGALURU -- Arjun Rao wanted to go off the beaten track with his venture capital firm Speciale Invest, convinced that he could strike gold with startups dealing in robotics, rockets and chips and other complex technologies loosely called "deep tech." Not many people in India shared his enthusiasm. Most money from global VCs flowed into e-commerce and food delivery ventures, and it took Rao two and a half years to close Speciale's first fund, of $8.5 million, in February 2019. During that time, India-focused VCs as a whole mopped up roughly $3.6 billion, according to estimates by consultancy Bain & Co.
Entrepreneur
07-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
InspeCity Raises USD 5.6 Mn Round Led by Ashish Kacholia to Scale Satellite Life-Extension Tech
The Mumbai-based startup aims to deploy the fresh funds to space-qualify its proprietary technologies within the next 12 months, grow its high-performance engineering team, and accelerate the deployment of satellite life-extension platforms in global markets. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Spacetech startup InspeCity has raised USD 5.6 million (INR 46 crore) in its Seed funding round led by Ashish Kacholia, with participation from Speciale Invest, Shastra VC, Antler India, DeVC, MGF-Kavachh, and Anicut Capital. The funding will be deployed to space-qualify its proprietary technologies within the next 12 months, grow its high-performance engineering team, and accelerate the deployment of satellite life-extension platforms in global markets. Founded in 2022 by Prof Arindrajit Chowdhury, a professor at IIT Bombay, along with other IIT Bombay alumni, Mumbai-based InspeCity is developing in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) solutions. Its flagship offering, VEDA (Vehicle for Life Extension and De-orbiting Activities), integrates propulsion systems, robotic arms, and RPOD (Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking) technologies. A demo mission for VEDA is planned for 2027. "Our mission is to redefine the economics and sustainability of satellite operations," said Prof Chowdhury. "By extending the lifespan of on-orbit assets and reducing orbital debris, we unlock a cleaner, more sustainable, and cost-efficient future for space. This capital infusion validates our unique approach and fast-tracks our journey to market leadership in satellite life-extension." The startup aims to provide lower-cost, fully integrated life-extension services as an alternative to global ISAM providers. It has already achieved key technical milestones, including wins in India's iDEX defence innovation challenges, and signed an MoU with Japan's Orbital Lasers to explore laser-based space debris removal. While the US and Europe remain core markets, InspeCity also sees strong opportunities in Southeast Asia and West Asia. Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner at Speciale Invest, said, "InspeCity represents the next wave of Indian deeptech: visionary, globally relevant, and deeply technical… uniquely positioned to lead the charge in orbital sustainability." Ashish Kacholia added, "InspeCity's bold vision for satellite life-extension… backed by a fully integrated stack of propulsion, robotics, and sensing technologies, positions them to become a global leader in in-orbit servicing." With this milestone round, InspeCity emerges as India's first vertically integrated platform for satellite life-extension, targeting the USD 14 billion ISAM market, and solidifying its place in the future of sustainable space infrastructure.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
IIT-Bombay incubated spacetech startup InspeCity secures $5.6 million in seed funding
Live Events IIT Bombay-incubated spacetech startup InspeCity, which is building technology for satellite life-extension , announced it has secured a $5.6 million (about Rs XX) seed funding round, led by Ashish Kacholia and participation from Speciale Invest, Shastra VC, Antler India, DeVC, MGF-Kavachh and Anicut aims to focus on building solutions for in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) and in-space Mumbai-based startup said it will use the capital to continue its research and development and scale up to commercialisation. It wants to develop a fully vertically integrated platform for life-extension, with propulsion, robotics, and rendezvous, proximity operations and docking (RPOD) technologies developed under the same roof. Arindrajit Chowdhury , CEO of InspeCity and professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Bombay , told ET that it will conduct a demo mission in 2027 during which it will fly a satellite to space and test its propulsion systems 'We're targeting a global market known as ISAM. It's projected to be about $14 billion by 2030, growing strongly. We want to corner that with VEDA (Vehicle for Life Extension and De-orbiting Activities) as a global offering, and also by selling propulsion systems,' he said at the satellite level, there's been only one successful life-extension or refuelling mission so far—done by Northrop Grumman around 2020. 'Despite big investments, like NASA's multi-billion-dollar refuelling and capture mission, the technology hasn't matured to TRL-9 universally. It's still early days. There's a massive opportunity for a new player to capture this market,' he believes InspeCity's development and build costs are likely to be lower than those of global startup said while the US and Europe are important markets for spacetech, Southeast Asia and West Asia are coming up as major hubs. Last year, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese startup Orbital Lasers to explore laser-based solutions for removing space debris.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Quantum cybersecurity firm QNu Labs bags Rs 60 crore from Centre's NQM, others
Bengaluru-based QNu Labs, a quantum cybersecurity startup, has raised Rs 60 crore in a Series A round led by the National Quantum Mission (NQM) with Rs 25 crore, marking the government's first strategic investment in a private deep tech startup in quantum IIT Madras-incubated startup has developed commercially ready indigenous, deep tech solutions for quantum computers. Once fully developed, these computers could easily break today's encryption methods that secure everything from banking transactions to defence secrets. Anticipating this risk – much like building seatbelts for a future car crash – QNu Labs offers quantum key distribution systems and post-quantum cryptography tools that can secure sensitive data. The funding round was led by the Department of Science and Technology's NQM with participation from Lucky Investment, Speciale Invest, Tenacity Ventures and Singularity AMC. QNu Labs has raised $20 million in funding so far. 'After successful deployments for the Indian defence forces, we're seeing growing traction in BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), telecom and healthcare. We already have four to five enterprise customers and expect major announcements from large banks and telcos soon,' QNu Labs CEO Sunil Gupta told ET. Gupta said the hesitation around quantum computing is reducing, especially after the US- National Institute of Standards and Technology released the post-quantum cryptography standards in August 2024. He termed it a 'turning point' for the industry. Most global players are either software-only or hardware-only. The startup is one of the few to build a hybrid stack, giving it an edge not just with Indian enterprises but also in other markets. 'There are only two or three serious players globally, and we've already won most of the deals against them. We're one of the very few in the world offering full-stack, commercially ready quantum-safe solutions,' Gupta emphasised. Vishesh Rajaram, managing partner, Speciale Invest, one of the investors, said, 'As one of our earliest investments, we've seen the team build patiently, layer by layer, a quantum security stack that's truly world-class.' He added that the round marked a defining milestone, not just for QNu Labs, but for India's emergence as a serious contender in quantum technologies globally. QNu Labs will use the capital to scale its commercial operations, expand its research and development footprint and expand global partnerships, the startup said.
