Skyroot Aerospace: The Company Behind India's First Private Orbital Rocket

The Company That Just Made Space History

When Vikram-1 lifted off from Sriharikota on July 18, 2026, most of the headlines went to the rocket. But the bigger story is the company behind it: Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based startup that didn't exist until 2018 and has since become India's first private company capable of reaching orbit — and its first space-tech unicorn.

Who Started Skyroot, and Why

Skyroot Aerospace was founded in 2018 by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, both IIT alumni who left research roles at ISRO to build a private rocket company from scratch. They were joined early on by other former ISRO and defense-research scientists — giving the young startup a founding team with direct experience building spacecraft for India's national space agency.

Their timing mattered. In May 2020, India's government formally opened the space sector to private companies for the first time, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman describing the private sector as a "co-traveler" in India's space journey. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was set up soon after to license and support exactly the kind of company Skyroot was trying to become.

Skyroot's pitch was simple: build small, responsive rockets that could act as a "cab to space" — letting satellite operators book a launch tailored to their specific orbit, rather than waiting to share space on a much larger national rocket.

From First Engine Test to First Orbit: A Fast Six Years

Skyroot's timeline moved quickly for a hardware company:

Funding and Backers

Skyroot has raised more than $150 million across a dozen-plus funding rounds since its first raise in 2018, according to company-tracking databases. Its investor list includes some heavyweight names for an Indian deep-tech startup:

• Temasek Holdings and GIC (Singapore's state investment funds)
• BlackRock, which provided debt financing in early 2026
• Sherpalo Ventures, the VC firm of Google founding board member Ram Shriram
• Mukesh Bansal (Myntra/CureFit founder), an investor since Skyroot's earliest days
• Solar Industries India, a recurring backer across several rounds

In May 2026, a fresh funding round pushed Skyroot's valuation past $1.1 billion, making it India's first dedicated space-tech unicorn. The company has also grown its headcount substantially, with employee counts across various trackers now ranging from roughly 900 to over 1,100 people.

Building the Infrastructure to Match the Ambition

In January 2025, the Government of Telangana signed an agreement with Skyroot to build an integrated rocket manufacturing, integration, and testing facility in the state, backed by an estimated ₹500 crore investment. That facility, Skyroot's "Infinity Campus," was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2025 — roughly 2 lakh square feet of workspace designed with the capacity to build one orbital rocket every month, a manufacturing cadence far beyond what a single test-flight program would need.

What Skyroot Is Building Next

With Vikram-1 now proven, Skyroot's roadmap continues with two follow-on vehicles: Vikram-1U, an upgraded variant with added solid boosters targeting around 550 kg to Low Earth Orbit, expected in early 2027; and Vikram-II, a larger rocket powered by a new cryogenic engine aimed at roughly 900 kg to LEO, also planned for 2027.

Why Skyroot's Story Matters Beyond One Company

Skyroot becoming India's first private company to reach orbit isn't just a milestone for one startup — it's a signal that India's 2020 decision to open the space sector to private players is starting to produce real, flight-proven results. For satellite operators, researchers, and other space companies, it means a genuine domestic alternative for getting small payloads into orbit, on a schedule set by the customer rather than a national launch manifest.