Digantara to double down on defence customers, missile tracking after $50 million fund infusion

‘Evolution, not a pivot’

While the global space economy has expanded, Sharma said most meaningful spending still comes from governments and defence agencies.

"For you to build a sustainable business, you have to choose whether you want to do both and spread your efforts, or focus on one first and then expand," he said. "We focused pretty much on defence."

The shift is not a pivot, Sharma said, but an “evolution” of Digantara's capabilities.

"What we developed is hardware and software infrastructure that can track fast-moving objects,” he said. "I don’t want to just track space debris or satellites anymore. I want to track anything that’s fast moving."

This has pushed the company into missile detection and tracking, including monitoring hypersonic and sub-orbital threats.

"In today’s geopolitical context, missiles are a huge problem," Sharma said. "So we are using the same base layer of technology built for SSA for missile detection and tracking purposes."

Digantara works with six defence customers in India, the US, the UK, Japan, Australia and Singapore. The credibility of winning defence contracts played a key role in closing the Series B round.

Investors were reassured by Digantara’s ability to navigate complex procurement processes, Sharma said.

The $50-million capital will primarily be deployed towards scaling infrastructure and accelerating deployment timelines.

A significant portion will go into launching a larger constellation of satellites, which Sharma described as "internal capex" required to support long-term defence programmes.

Surfin’ USA

Another major focus area is Digantara’s US expansion. "You can’t build things in India and sell to the US defence market. They need 'Made in America', " Sharma said.

The company is investing heavily in building capabilities in the US, including larger satellite platforms of up to 150 kg, compared to smaller platforms developed in India.

"We've split our portfolio very clearly," he said. "India focuses on software, algorithms, astrodynamics and optical payloads. In the US, we’re focusing on bigger platforms and infrared sensors needed for missile tracking."

Digantara has a small team in the US and plans to scale it up significantly, including hiring senior leadership for the American entity. The US operations will function as a separate, security-cleared unit to comply with defence regulations, with classified programmes run entirely by US citizens.

Beyond infrastructure, Sharma said the funding allows Digantara to move faster across multiple fronts without building redundant teams.

"What we do in the US should be different from what we do in India," he said. "That way we can attack two different things at the same time and reduce the time taken to reach orbit."

Over the next year, the company plans multiple launches followed by a larger constellation deployment in late 2026.

Sharma said immediate priority is execution. "Most importantly, it’s about delivering the contracts we’ve already won," he said. "These are large-scale defence projects, and execution takes time."