Skyroot Aerospace has become India’s first space-tech unicorn after raising $60 million from Sherpalo, GIC, and BlackRock, highlighting growing investor confidence in the country’s rapidly expanding private space industry. The new capital will allow Skyroot to establish a high cadence of Vikram-1 launches, scale up manufacturing, and develop Vikram-2 (a 1-tonne class launch vehicle powered by an advanced cryogenic stage).
Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace, a private space launch company, has raised $60 million (around Rs 570 crore) from Ram Shriram’s Sherpalo, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, BlackRock, the founders of renewable energy company Greenko Group, Arkam Ventures, Playbook Partners, Shanghvi Family Office, and other investors, the company announced on Thursday (May 7, 2026).
While the founders of Playbook Partners and Shanghvi Family Office are all new investors in the company, Sherpalo, GIC, BlackRock, the Greenko Group, and Arkam Ventures are all existing backers of Skyroot Aerospace. The round was co-led by Sherpalo and GIC. With this round, the total funding Skyroot has raised crosses $160 million (Rs 1,500 crore).
“We at Skyroot are excited about the upcoming Vikram-1 launch, India's first private orbital rocket, marking a significant milestone both for India and the global space sector. This investment signals confidence from some of the world's most reputed investors in Skyroot," said Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder & CEO, Skyroot Aerospace.
Skyroot is valued at $1.1 billion, up from around $519 million in 2023. It is now among India’s most well-funded space-tech startups and is also the first unicorn, a private company valued at $1 billion or more, to emerge from the industry.
The company made an orbital launch in 2023 and is preparing for another launch in the coming weeks. The funding round comes as Skyroot prepares for the maiden flight of Vikram-1, the country’s first privately developed orbital rocket. It recently dispatched vital rocket components to Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh from its manufacturing facility in Hyderabad. The company is getting ready for the launch over the next few weeks.
The startup claims that its services will be the cheapest for organisations that want to send their satellites into the designated orbits.
"I've believed in the Skyroot team since the early days, and that conviction has only deepened as the team marches forward to the launchpad with Vikram-1, India’s first private orbital-class rocket. Access to space is one of the key challenges of our time," said Ram Shriram, Founder & Managing Partner, Sherpalo Ventures.
"Skyroot is building the foundational infrastructure for that future with the best cost-to-performance ratio in the orbital-launch industry, and what the team has achieved is remarkable. I am proud to deepen my partnership with them as they take their next giant leap,” he added.
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The fundraising shows the growing global investor interest in India’s emerging private space industry, which has expanded rapidly since policy reforms opened the sector to startups.
"This achievement sends a strong signal to global investors that India has built a credible and innovation-driven space ecosystem capable of delivering world-class, cost-competitive, reliable, and on-demand space solutions," Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt (retd.), Director General, Indian Space Association (ISpA) said.
Analysts believe that companies like Skyroot could help India capture a larger share of the booming global small satellite launch market, currently dominated by US and European players.