India's first space unicorn 'very soon', says Pawan Goenka, one startup already at $500 million

IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Kr Goenka

India has already produced a space startup valued at $500 million, and a billion dollar unicorn hopefully on the horizon, said Pawan Goenka, chairman of Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the nodal body for all space activities for the private sector.

"We already have one startup which is valued at half a billion and we have three-four startups at a valuation of a quarter of billion dollars. I am looking forward to the first unicorn to happen, hopefully very soon," Goenka said, while speaking at the Bharat Space Conclave on March 12.

The IN-SPACe chairman did not name these startups.

Goenka highlighted in his keynote address the rapid growth of India's space startups while acknowledging that funding remains a challenge. Last year, the funding in India's space tech ecosystem was around $130 million, said Goenka. This year, he noted that there has been a dip.

"We are working with multiple funding investor groups, PE groups, having conferences. (We are also) creating awareness amongst the investors about opportunities in the space sector. Primarily when an industry is investing, it's to make money,” said Goenka.

"The primary concern they have right now is, will their investment bear fruit? And we have to convince them by showing outcome of what has already happened," Goenka added.

Pawan Goenka said the Rs 1,000 crore VC fund announced in the Union Budget will act as a multiplier. IN-SPACe chairman said the fund structure is close to being set up, and they will soon announce a fund manager.

India's space sector, supported by government reforms and increased participation from private firms, has been attracting global attention.

As funding hurdles persist, industry stakeholders will be watching closely for signs of the country’s first space unicorn. Goenka pointed at the scale of business opportunities that are emerging for the private players in the space sector and said a significant portion of upcoming projects would rely on private companies.

Goenka cited major initiatives like a surveillance satellite consortium for defense, and said, "That will be a total business of about Rs 25,000 crore-plus coming to the private sector. So that's a big deal."

Goenka said the government has approved production of over 60 LVM3 rockets that will be built with private sector involvement, adding another Rs 25,000 crore worth of business for the players. "I don't think I have seen that kind of business coming from the government ever, not even close," he added.

Goenka said the government has approved Rs 35,000 crore worth of projects for ISRO, where private vendors will be contributing nearly 60-70 per cent.

"You can see the demand now, some big numbers are coming on the table," Goenka said.