Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 28: Digantara, Pixxel and GalaxEye are using Indian government contracts as a launchpad. India’s private space startups now court foreign governments for surveillance services. Two target $100 million in annual revenue by 2029.
India’s space sector is moving from a decades-old state monopoly towards private participation. Isro is focusing on research and technology. Manufacturing and commercialisation are shifting to private industry.
Beyond Isro, a group of private operators is building surveillance businesses of its own. Digantara, Pixxel and GalaxEye won early footholds through government contracts. Their next challenge is selling to governments abroad.
Home contracts as a proving ground
Domestic sovereign orders offer funding, technical validation and operational experience. Pixxel is backed by Google, Temasek and Lightspeed Venture Partners. It won a ₹1,200-crore contract from In-Space last August. The deal covers an array of space-surveillance satellites by 2029.
GalaxEye counts Infosys, Speciale Invest and MountTech Growth Fund among its backers. It was among the first selected to build a high-resolution surveillance satellite in India. It also received ₹63.84 crore from the government’s Research Development and Innovation fund.
Such contracts build credibility. They do not, however, guarantee export success.
The $100 million test
Digantara is backed by Reliance Industries, SBI Ventures and Peak XV. It is building a military-grade space map. Chief executive Anirudh Sharma expects $30 million in annual operating revenue by FY27-end. He targets $100 million by the end of 2029.
GalaxEye targets $100 million in annual recurring revenue by 2029. Both figures are management targets, not achieved revenues.
Execution risk is real. GalaxEye lost contact with Drishti, its first optical imaging satellite, on 7 July. Chief executive Suyash Singh said the company remains confident. GalaxEye has yet to secure a foreign-government contract.
Looking overseas
Digantara’s overseas push is already under way. In February, it partnered a Singapore government body on sovereign space surveillance. A similar contract followed in Thailand in March. Values were undisclosed, but Digantara called both multi-year deals rather than pilots. Both came after a contract from India’s defence ministry in June last year.
Sharma sees growing demand from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. Many governments require local units with domestic partners, he said.
Pixxel was one of eight suppliers selected for Nasa-linked satellite data in 2024. It later signed an undisclosed deal with the US National Reconnaissance Office. In March, it added Saudi Arabia’s sovereign operator, Neo Space Group.
India’s space pacts with the US, Japan and Australia provide diplomatic backing. Such agreements can open doors, though they do not guarantee contracts.
Building the surveillance layer
Surveillance needs differ from customer to customer. Governments seeking multi-sensor data need satellites passing over specific regions. That demands suitably configured, denser constellations for consistent coverage.
Sharma and Singh acknowledged India’s planned networks lag leading US constellations on frequency. They expect that gap could narrow. Isro is expected to launch SBS-3, a 52-satellite system, by 2029.
Shailender Arya of The Asia Group said Isro’s EOS-5 launch could create private-sector opportunities. Isro itself may not sell surveillance data to foreign governments. Private operators could pursue that business instead.
The commercial test
Industry veterans cite an In-Space projection from three years ago. It suggests private satellite-services operators could earn up to $8 billion annually by 2033. That remains a projection, not a market already won.
Domestic demand has given India’s spy-satellite startups a foundation. The harder test is turning capability into repeatable international revenue.
