Space industry funding in India falls 55% in 2024, data show

BENGALURU: So, it turns out that funding for India’s space sector took a nosedive in 2024. It dropped by a whopping 55%, going from $130.2 million last year to just $59.1 million. This info comes from Tracxn, a market intelligence platform.

This decline is pretty significant, especially since it’s the first drop in at least five years. Globally, the space sector also saw a 20% dip in investments. Over the last five years, space companies around the world raised about $28 billion, while Indian companies managed to secure around $354 million.

India’s space industry has been in the spotlight lately, thanks to the successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing and the Aditya-L1 solar probe launch. The growth of private space companies is seen as vital for reaching the ambitious goal of a $44 billion private space economy.

To help boost the sector, the government approved a fund of 10 billion rupees, which is about $119 million, back in October 2024. They’re also planning to increase India’s share of the global commercial space market by 2033.

Industry experts are hopeful for a rebound in funding by 2025. Vishesh Rajaram, a managing partner at Speciale Invest, mentioned that the next year will be crucial for shaping the future of India’s space tech startups.

In 2023, the space sector hit a funding high of $130.2 million, which was a 32.9% increase from 2022. This growth was driven by initiatives in satellite technology, launch vehicles, and space exploration.

Pawan Chandana, founder of Skyroot Aerospace, noted that this decline fits the natural investment cycles of the industry. He believes that as leading companies reach important milestones in 2025, investment activity will likely pick up again.

From 2020 to 2024, Indian space startups raised a total of $353.5 million across 72 funding rounds. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is also expecting a budget increase of 20%-30% to support deep space exploration and heavy-lift rockets.