At a time when India¡¯s space sector is?riding high on the mega success of?Chandrayaan-3?and is focusing on many other big missions at present and in the near future, the number of space?tech startups is rising. India is home to not just one or two but, in fact, 190 registered space-tech startups, according to an October report by Deloitte, the Indian Space Association, and trade association NASSCOM.?
Among these startups is?aerospace manufacturing startup Agnikul Cosmos.
¡°Agnikul¡± is a derivative of the Sanskrit word - ¡°Gurukul¡± and it could be interpreted to mean ¡°a place where people learn to use fire¡±. As per its website,?the startup has a fairly young team of 250 people, guided by 37 ex-ISRO scientists.
Startup Agnikul designs and manufactures rockets for satellites under 100 kilogrammes in weight. Its launch vehicle, the Agnibaan SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator (SOrTeD), has five possible configurations depending on the number of engines and stages used in the launch, and clients¡¯ needs. Agnibaan integrates 3D-printed components, such as Agnilet, a patented 3D-printed rocket engine, which the startup?claims is the world¡¯s first such engine to be printed in a single piece,?as per Forbes report.
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Agnikul is backed by the likes of Forbes Midas Lister Navin Chaddha¡¯s Mayfield Fund, which raised $26.7 million in a Series B funding round?as investor optimism in India¡¯s?space?industry takes off.
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Agnikul was founded in the year 2017 and i based in Chennai, India. Its highlight years are:
2016
Inception! - This was when Agnikul was an idea on paper and in dreams.
2017
Formation! - Agnikul Cosmos was formally incorporated as a company in Chennai, India.
It?moved into the National Center for Combustion R&D at IIT Madras, Chennai, India.
2018
Incubation & Acceleration! - Agnikul incubated at IIT Madras. It became a part of the Airbus Accelerator.
First series of hot firings! - Itfired our first set of igniters and single injector element based thrusters.
2019
Agnikul grew to have a presence in Kerala as well and became a part of the Kerala Startup mission startup community.
Commercialization! - Itstarted signing agreements with potential customers.
Cash infusion! - Itraised our seed round of funding from Speciale Invest.
Itrealized our single piece, fully 3d printed, upper stage engine.
2020
More commercialization! - Agreements with Launchports, customers, significant vendor-partners and others
More cash infusion! - Agnikul raised its pre-series A round from highly reputed institutional investors.
Parternship - It signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with Indian Space Research Organisation.
2021
Second set of hot firings! - Itsuccessfully fired single piece 3D printed engine - Agnilet and acheived steady state.
More cash infusion! - Agnikul raised our $11 Million Series A round from highly reputed institutional and angel investors.
2022
New Policy Alignment! - IN-SPACe was inaugurated. Itsigned a MoU with IN-SPACe and our Honourable Prime Minister interacted with us.
More Infrastructure! - Inaugurated Agnikul Rocket Factory - 1 at IITM Research Park.
Test Firing! - Succesfully test fired Agnilet engine at VSSC, ISRO.
New Launchpad! - Itinaugurated India's first private Launchpad and Mission Control Room at Sriharikota.
Packages from ISRO - It received Flight Termination System (FTS) from ISRO. This is the first time a PSLV package was delivered for a private vehicle.
2023
Launchpad Interface Checks! - It commenced vehicle interface checks at Agnikul Launchpad at SDSC SHAR
The fresh capital will go towards Agnikul¡¯s first set of commercial launches, the ¡°building of key launch infrastructure,¡± and hiring production, operations and technology talent, according to the company. With a private launchpad located in the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Agnikul says its maiden launch is set for the end of 2023.Srinath Ravichandran, cofounder and CEO at Agnikul, credits the success of India¡¯s recent lunar mission with raising ¡°the sentiment of every Indian and the space tech sector at large¡±, as per Forbes report.?
¡°India's space industry is in an exciting growth trajectory, we were on the moon just recently and what could have been better than this?¡± Ravichandran wrote in an email to Forbes Asia. ¡°With a burgeoning ecosystem of public and private enterprises, increased international collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to innovation, I see India's space sector contributing significantly to global space exploration, satellite services, and environmental sustainability.¡±
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