Spacetech startup Cosmoserve raises $6M in seed round

Cosmoserve Space, a Hyderabad-based spacetech startup, has raised $6 million in a seed round of funding from Rebright Partners of Japan, Aranya Holdings, and Naandi Ventures.

The round also saw participation from existing investors AUM Ventures and Shakti VC. This funding round has seen Cosmoserve raising over $9 million.

Cosmoserve also inaugurated Base 1 - a facility to design, build, test and operate systems for satellite servicing and space debris recovery. A statement said, this facility will have an orbital rendezvous and capture lab to simulate spacecraft capture operations, a space robotics innovation Lab to develop robotic capture systems; a clean room for satellite integration, a mission simulation and control Centre to manage upcoming missions.

“In our first year we have flown our first payload on an Indian rocket, raised our seed round, and today we open a facility where we can design, build, test and fly our missions under one roof. Debris is becoming the limiting factor for every nation's space ambitions, including India's. Base 1 is where we build the capability to keep orbits usable, for Gaganyaan, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and every satellite that follows,” said Chiranjeevi Phanindra, Founder & CEO of Cosmoserve Space.

Beyond removing space debris, the company said the facility will support satellite servicing, including in-orbit repairs and refuelling. Cosmoserve currently sources close to 60% of its mission components locally. The company aims to develop more critical technologies in-house through Base 1 and strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities.

According to the spacetech startup, space debris is one of the biggest challenges facing the global space industry. Of the approximately 28,000 satellites in orbit, nearly 10,000 are dead or non-operational.

Beyond these inactive satellites, Earth's orbit is crowded with an estimated 68,000 debris objects. Even fragments can pose serious risks to operational satellites, spacecraft and missions such as the International Space Station (ISS), given the high speeds at which they travel.