Knowledge from Enterprise Intelligence reveals that enterprise capital poured in $276 million throughout 33 offers in 2025, in contrast with a complete of $262 million throughout 28 offers in 2023 and 2024 cumulatively. New entrants into the ecosystem acquired cheques alongside mature firms elevating bigger rounds.
“Early incumbents within the sector have been capable of elevate capital, which in flip has created confidence within the entrepreneurial neighborhood that the investing ecosystem is there to assist them,” mentioned Pratik Agarwal, accomplice at international enterprise capital agency Accel. “There’s additionally been an inflection level of expertise.”
Early entrants reminiscent of Agnikul Cosmos and Skyroot, which had been initially centered on constructing house infrastructure, at the moment are approaching first industrial launches. Most are anticipated to launch rockets someday in 2026.
That progress has begun to draw funds which have traditionally averted deeptech.
Arkam Ventures, which historically hasn’t made deep tech investments, is now evaluating spacetech extra actively and is trying to make between 4 and 5 bets from its second fund, introduced in 2023 with a goal corpus of $180 million and but to announce a last shut. The agency invested in Skyroot in 2024 in an unannounced cheque from its first fund.
“We learnt quite a bit about spacetech with that funding together with how deep the availability chain is, what are the crucial elements, what are the benefits India has within the sector,” mentioned Rahul Chandra, managing director on the early-stage fund. “We’re utilizing plenty of that thesis for our subsequent fund.”
Zerodha-backed Rainmatter Capital can be stepping up deeptech investments and has been assembly extra spacetech firms than in prior years. The agency made an early guess in Agnikul Cosmos and took part in satellite tv for pc startup Galaxeye’s $6.5 million spherical in 2024.
“We’re firms extra from a lens of how India can diversify away from the dependencies on different nations,” mentioned Dinesh Pai, who heads investments on the agency.
Frenzy in a high-diligence market
Among the many high ten funding rounds in spacetech final 12 months, solely two had been in mature gamers—Digantara and Agnikul, which raised $50 million and $17.5 million, respectively, in line with Enterprise Intelligence. The rest went to early-stage firms, indicating that a big share of the $276 million invested in 2025 flowed into youthful startups.
The outlier in 2025 was EtherealX, a Collection An organization that raised $20.5 million in a spherical led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital, with participation from Accel, Bluehill.vc, Prosus Ventures and 4 others. Two years in the past, such a big early-stage cheque for the sector was virtually extraordinary.
A number of early-stage traders mentioned competitors for offers has intensified.
“It is 100% extra aggressive for prime quality offers,” Manu Iyer, co-founder and basic accomplice at Bluehill.vc advised Mint. “Even comparatively good high quality offers have 4 to 5 funds making a play.”
The place pre-seed and seed rounds beforehand tended to be led by a single institutional investor, early-stage rounds in 2025 and early 2026 are more and more being performed by a number of funds collectively.
TakeMe2Space raised a $5 million seed spherical from Chiratae Ventures, Unicorn India Ventures, Artha India Ventures and SEA Fund. SpaceFields’ $5 million pre-Collection A was led by Globaz Applied sciences with participation from Rockstud Capital, Rainmatter, Enterprise Catalysts and not less than 5 extra funds.
“The market is unquestionably extra aggressive. However that is a very good factor for the founder ecosystem as a result of they’ve extra funds to select from that may assist them,” mentioned Accel’s Agarwal.
Pre-seed and seed cheque sizes, nevertheless, haven’t moved a lot. From 2023 to 2024, cheques rose from $2 million to $3 million, with 2025 seeing no change, in line with Enterprise Intelligence. That mentioned, with competitiveness heating up, traders say some cheques are going as excessive as $5 million.
Catalyx House raised $5 million, whereas Cosmoserve House, and Olee House each raised $3 million every.
These bigger cheques, nevertheless, include expectations round founder background and depth of technical work.
“Rounds are actually aggressive for founders who’ve been engaged on the expertise their startup is constructing and have been doing it for years earlier than they went attempting to find enterprise capital cash,” mentioned Atharva Shah, senior affiliate at Rockstud Capital.
Valuations edge greater
As extra capital chases a finite pool of firms, valuations are additionally starting to edge up.
“I don’t learn about valuations going loopy, however they’re undoubtedly creeping up,” mentioned Bluehill’s Iyer. “Pricing has gone 30% greater than I’d prefer to be paying in a lot of the spacetech segments. However it’s actually only a operate of the quantity of capital out there on the backside of the pyramid.”
Deeptech traders usually value firms conservatively at early levels, with sharp step-ups as expertise readiness improves and industrial viability turns into clearer.
Agnikul is an effective instance. At the same time as its capital necessities slowed with bettering expertise readiness, its November $17.5 million spherical valued the corporate at $500 million, aided by the truth that it has a launch within the works.
Agarwal from Accel views the valuation creep as an indication of ecosystem maturity. “It’s a very good factor for founders. It will get cheaper for them to lift cash, construct out milestones and so they get to dilute much less fairness.”
For founders, controlling how a lot fairness they provide up stays central. “Due to how capital intensive this sector is, founders like me are typically trying to dilute simply sufficient to lift the following spherical and the one after that with none issues,” mentioned Manu Nair, co-founder and chief government of EtherealX. “Buyers have a tendency to hunt consolation in that and so have I.”
The reusable rocket startup’s valuation jumped 5.5x in its newest spherical to $80.5 million, from $14.5 million after its $5 million seed spherical in 2024.
Greater than a rocket
As incumbents transfer towards launches and satellite tv for pc firms signal defence and agriculture contracts, investor curiosity is spreading throughout the worth chain.
Arkam Ventures is evaluating launch and satellite tv for pc firms, the place it expects manufacturing to turn into extra home, however can be open to downstream performs. “There’s data-related firms, particles assortment and removalplays that may crop up as effectively,” mentioned Chandra.
Different areas attracting capital embody earth remark, house area consciousness, house situational consciousness, and in-orbit and in-space companies.
Bluehill is scouting firms constructing avionics methods, satellite tv for pc substructures, management methods, communication arrays and digital warfare, mentioned Iyer. Rockstud is startups engaged on propulsion methods.
Accel, in the meantime, is changing into steadily extra bullish on house. Agarwal mentioned the agency is finding out the place it desires to take a position throughout the sector and scouting alternatives via its Atoms ‘X’ monitor accelerator programme. “We need to be the primary companions for many who are reimagining what the house ecosystem will seem like sooner or later.”