Initiatives like the Smart Cities Mission, PM Gati Shakti, Deep Ocean Mission and the push for precision agriculture have heightened the demand for location-based analytics, satellite imagery and real-time data, propelling the industry forward, the paper by Geospatial World, an organisation that advocates for technologies and organisations working in the geospatial sector said.
The paper forecast that the domestic market will expand significantly, driven by increased adoption of geospatial technologies across industries such as agriculture, urban development, logistics and defence.
The paper identifies the Indian companies driving the investment surge in the geospatial industry as Skyroot, Pixxel, Agnikul, SatSure, Skylark Drones, ideaForge and GalaxEye.Between 2019 and the second quarter of 2024, more than $1 billion was cumulatively invested in 126 unique companies by 176 investors, reflecting a dynamic and growing market. However, both the number of investments and the total amount invested have experienced fluctuations during this period.
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The peak occurred in 2022, when total investment surged to $355 million across 40 deals. This period saw large funding rounds, as companies moved from early-stage innovation to commercialisation and scaling up.
The 2023 and Q2 of 2024 reflected a cooling period, with investments falling to $327 million in 2023 and
$225 million by mid-2024, driven by consolidation in the industry and more selective capital allocation
by investors.
The number of deals also decreased to 30 and 22, respectively, indicating a phase of maturation where established companies began dominating the landscape.
Space explorers
Pixxel, which has raised $71.7 million so far, is known for its earth observation satellites using hyperspectral imaging. Pixxel secured significant funding, contributing to the overall investment spike in the sector. The company’s focus is on building a constellation of satellites that provide high-resolution hyperspectral images for a wide range of applications, from agriculture to climate monitoring.
Earth observation and satellite imaging have traditionally been dominated by a handful of global players, with no Indian company making its mark in this space — until now, said Awais Ahmed, cofounder and chief executive of Bengaluru-based Pixxel.
“Hyperspectral imaging, which captures hundreds of wavelengths of light, allows us to see details invisible to conventional satellites, like early signs of crop disease, soil nutrient levels, water pollution or methane leaks,” he said. “This is the kind of information that can transform industries like agriculture, mining and urban planning and address critical global challenges such as climate change and food security.”
Pixxel is building the world’s first commercial hyperspectral imaging constellation, designed to deliver global coverage at a resolution that is 50 times more detailed than multispectral satellites.
This technology will enable industries and governments to monitor changes in near real-time, with actionable insights that were previously impossible to obtain.
“India’s space ecosystem is growing rapidly, and we’re proud to be the first Indian company to position ourselves as a serious player in the $7-billion global Earth Observation data market,” he said. “Our goal is to not just establish India’s presence but to fundamentally shift how satellite data is used to make better decisions for the planet,” Ahmed explained.
ETtechSource: India Geospatial Market Outlook 2024
Above ground level
Known for its indigenous development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ideaForge focuses on providing drone solutions for defence, security and industrial applications. Its drones are recognised for their durability and operational efficiency, making them popular across both government and commercial sectors.
Ankit Mehta, chief executive of ideaForge Technology, said the demand for accurate and actionable geospatial data is at an all-time high, driven by the increasing reliance on data-driven solutions across industries.
“Drone technology is at the forefront of this evolution, enabling the capture of centimetre level, high-resolution, precise and real-time geospatial data, which can be converted to proper ortho-rectified maps for geographic measurements, unlike satellite data,” Mehta said.
“Our involvement in initiatives like Operation Dronagiri under the National Geospatial Policy 2022 reaffirms our commitment to leveraging geospatial technologies to enhance decision-making, improve citizen services and drive sustainable development,” he added. “We believe drone data represents the forefront of innovation and is shaping the future direction of the industry.”
Sky is the limit
With an overall funding of $95.5 million, specialising in satellite launch vehicles, Skyroot Aerospace raised the highest funding among Indian space tech startups. Their focus is on providing cost-effective, reliable access to space, aiming to make satellite launches more accessible for global customers.
Pawan Kumar Chandana, cofounder and chief executive of Skyroot Aerospace, said that whether it is internet services beamed from orbit or ground data captured from above, opportunities are expanding exponentially.
The record-breaking investments in the Indian space sector reflect this inflection point, he said.
“But there exists a critical bottleneck today in the form of access to space — with only a handful of launch providers catering to the growing demand,” he pointed out. “Our funding rounds are a recognition of this market gap and our efforts to address it.”
Chandana said, “Through our Vikram-series launch vehicles, we aim to provide cost-effective launch services that will enable an ecosystem of space startups to build for space. Our maiden orbital flight of Vikram-1 in 2025 will mark the beginning of this journey.”
Filling in the void
Infosys, India’s second-largest software services firm, has invested `17 crore (about $2 million) in Bengaluru-based startup GalaxEye Space Solutions. The company, incubated at IIT-Madras, is developing multi-sensor satellites that integrate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical sensors for high-resolution, all-weather imagery. The investment supports the upcoming Drishti Mission, set to launch in 2025, and marks Infosys’s foray into space tech.
“Raising capital from leading investors like Mela Ventures and Infosys, especially in a tough market, is a testament to the company’s strength. We’re not here to imitate the West — we’re here to disrupt the earth observation and geospatial industry,” said Suyash Singh, cofounder and chief executive of GalaxEye.
While companies like Ola, Swiggy and Zomato have leveraged navigation satellites to reshape industries, we have not seen the same with earth observation, he pointed out. GalaxEye is stepping up to fill that void, making a bold impact not just in India, but on the global geospatial stage, he said.
Maturing system
India’s competitive pricing in satellite launch services (through ISRO) and its growing capabilities in geospatial data processing make it an attractive partner for global markets. With improvements in technological capacity, India is likely to increase its share in international geospatial services, aided by growing collaborations with global space agencies and private firms.
Sanjay Kumar, founding chief executive of Geospatial World, explained that the domestic market is projected to play a larger role in the overall industry composition by 2028. “While exports contributed nearly equally to the market in 2019, by 2025 and 2028, the domestic market is forecast to outpace exports significantly,” he said.
This shift is indicative of a maturing geospatial ecosystem within India, driven by increasing public sector projects, private investment and sector-specific applications that require geospatial solutions, Kumar said.
The geospatial market is expected to grow to Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030, with significant integration across sectors like defence, agriculture and telecommunications, the paper said.
The domestic market’s contribution to the total industry size is forecast to rise to Rs 63,500 crore by 2028 from Rs 12,000 crore in 2019, reflecting growing demand. The export market, while maintaining a steady growth trajectory, is expected to contribute about Rs 17,000 crore by 2025, and Rs 36,500 crore by 2028, up from approximately Rs 11,000 crore in 2019.
