Pixxel wins fresh defence grant to build advanced hyperspectral, MWIR payloads for Indian Air Force

Bengaluru-based space-tech startup Pixxel has secured a second grant from the Ministry of Defence’s iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) initiative to develop hyperspectral and mid-wave infrared (MWIR) payloads for the Indian Air Force.

The grant, awarded under the iDEX DISC 8 Challenge 6.2, comes through the SPARK (Support for Prototype and Research Kickstart) scheme. It follows Pixxel’s earlier selection under the Mission DefSpace Challenge in 2023 to build miniaturised, multi-payload satellites.

The new funding will support Pixxel’s work on imaging payloads aimed at enhancing India’s airborne and space-based surveillance capabilities.

Pixxel, which has three hyperspectral satellites, named Fireflies, in orbit, is building a constellation of 18–24 such satellites to offer high-resolution Earth observation data.

The startup also operates Aurora, a data platform for analysing hyperspectral imagery.

Pixxel has raised $95 million so far, with backers including Google, Lightspeed, and Glade Brook Capital.