India's Digantara raises $50M for space-based missile defence tech | TechCrunch

"Digantara, an Indian space surveillance startup, has raised $50 million in a new funding round as it moves beyond space situational awareness into missile tracking, citing growing demand from governments for space-based defence capabilities. The all-equity Series B round included new investors such as 360 ONE Asset and SBI Investments of Japan, as well as serial entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala, with existing backers Peak XV Partners and Kalaari Capital also participating."

"Digantara launched its first space surveillance satellite, SCOT (Space Camera for Object Tracking), in January aboard SpaceX's Transporter-12 mission, enabling space-to-space observation. A month later, the startup opened an office in Colorado Springs as part of its push into the U.S. defence market, a move that has since led to contracts with U.S. Space Command for analytics-as-a-service. Its U.S. entity has also been selected for the Missile Defense Agency's SHIELD contract vehicle, which supports next-generation missile defence."

Digantara raised $50 million in an all-equity Series B round with new investors including 360 ONE Asset and SBI Investments of Japan, and participation from Ronnie Screwvala, Peak XV Partners and Kalaari Capital, bringing total capital to $64.5 million. The Bengaluru-based company expanded from tracking orbital debris to missile detection and tracking by leveraging space- and ground-based infrared sensors combined with software analytics. Digantara launched its SCOT satellite aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12, opened a Colorado Springs office to pursue the U.S. defence market, and secured contracts with U.S. Space Command and selection for the Missile Defense Agency SHIELD vehicle.

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