Hyderabad's Dhruva Space bags $9 million from IAN Alpha Fund, others

Dhruva Space has raised around $9.3 million (Rs 78 crore) from a clutch of investors, including Indian Angel Network Alpha Fund and Blue Ashva Capital, the Hyderabad-based space tech startup said on April 22, bringing. its Series A corpus to around $14 million (Rs 123 crore).

The fund raise comes at a time when there has been a significant policy push from the government to open up the private space sector. It also highlights the growing value of India's space economy, which regulator IN-SPACe estimates will touch $44 billion by 2023.

The startup said the funds would be used ploughed into the company's 2.8 lakh sq ft satellite infra manufacturing facility in Hyderabad. The money will used for acquisitions and improving product offerings.

"With the increasing demand for satellites and satellite-enabled services globally, the funding will be instrumental in supporting the industrialisation and manufacturing of Dhruva Space’s full-stack products, enabling significant team growth, increased development of capability and infrastructure, and fuelling the international expansion of our business,” CEO Sanjay Nekkanti said.