Naman Finance and SIDBI Invest in SpaceTech Startup Digantara

In an extended Series A funding round, SpaceTech startup Digantara has secured Rs 15.54 crore or $1.88 million. Naman Finance And Investment Private Limited (NFAI) led the investment with the participation of SIDBI Venture Capital.

According to regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies, Digantara’s board approved the issuance of 20 equity shares and 622 Series A1 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of Rs 2,42,122 per share, raising the amount above.

NFAI contributed Rs 8.3 crore to lead the round, while SIDBI Venture Capital invested the remaining funds.

Digantara’s post-funding valuation is approximately Rs 590 crore or $71 million, which marks a twofold increase from its previous valuation.

Following the allocation of shares, NFAI now holds a 1.41% stake in Digantara, with SIDBI Venture Capital owning 1.23% of the shares.

As of now, Digantara has raised a total of $14.4 million across three funding rounds. In June 2023, it secured $10 million in a series A1 round led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) and Kalaari Capital.

Established in December 2018, Digantara specializes in space situational awareness to facilitate safe and sustainable space operations. The company is developing infrastructure supported by a multi-modal data pool to provide accurate datasets and precise orbital insights to stakeholders across the value chain.

According to Digantara, inadequate tracking capabilities for objects in Earth’s orbit have rendered 96% of the 1 million existing objects untracked. Despite being large enough to threaten spacecraft, these objects often go undetected.

Last year, Digantara expanded its operations to Singapore and initiated the development of India’s first commercial SSA optical observatory in Uttarakhand. The observatory is expected to enhance the nation’s space and SSA capabilities significantly. Additionally, the company launched two missions serving as space weather testbeds.

For the fiscal year ending March 2023, Digantara reported revenue from operations amounting to Rs 2.37 lakh, with losses totalling Rs 3.54 crore.

Other notable startups in the space segment include Agnikul Cosmos, Skyroot Aerospace, Bellatrix, GlaxEye, Dhruva, SatSure, Vesta Space, and InspeCity.