By CIO Insider Team
 

InspeCity, a space-tech startup incubated at IIT-Bombay, secured Rs 100 crore ($10.5 million) in its pre-Series A funding round, preparing to fly its in-space servicing technologies and scale the business to commercial operations. Speciale Invest and investor Ashish Kacholia co-led the round, with other investors including Antler Elevate, Antler India, Manish Gandhi and Shastra VC.

The new investment will help the company advance its next steps in deep tech, space infrastructure, autonomous systems, satellite servicing and commercial operations. The capital will be directed to flight qualification and scaling commercial activities, instead of the technology development stage, according to InspeCity.

Key Highlights

• InspeCity raises Rs 100 crore in pre-Series A funding round
• Fresh capital will support flight qualification and commercial scaling
• Startup plans four in-orbit missions over next 12-18 months

The new round comes after InspeCity raised $5.6 million of seed funding in May last year led by Ashish Kacholia, who also participated in the round along with Speciale Invest, Shastra VC, Antler India, DeVC, Shastra Kavachh, and the Anicut Capital. Preceding that, Startup had raised $1.5 million in Pre-Seed Funding with Speciale Invest and other investors.

Also Read: GreenGrahi Raises Rs.32 Crore in Seed Funding Round

InspeCity was established in 2022 to develop technologies for in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM), to help prolong the life of satellites and to tackle the ever-increasing problem of space debris. It has a technology roadmap centered on autonomous functionality, which can enable increasingly complex orbital operations.

The Vehicle for Life-Extension and Deorbiting Activities (VEDA) is an in-space servicing architecture, developed as an autonomous mission, that will allow for the extension of satellite life and for evolving the capability step-by-step.

The technology stack employed by InspeCity for spacecraft propulsion and mobility includes GITA (Green Impulse TrAnsmitter), the technology of sensing, navigation and proximity operations, and RAMA (Remotely Actuated Motorized Arm) for robotic manipulation. It has a self-aligning port called SPARSH (Self-aligning Port for Autonomous Refueling and Satellite Housekeeping) that is being created to allow for cooperative docking and in-orbit propellant transfer.

These technologies are the backbone of orbital platforms such as: RIG (Remote Inspection and Guidance), VEDA (Virtual Environmental Diagnostics and Assessment), and SAMA (Space-Based Maintenance Asset). It's part of a larger trend in the space sector of independence for satellites, robotics servicing, in-orbit space infrastructure, space life extension, and in-space manufacturing.

Also Read: Raphe mPhibr Raises $100 Million in Round led by Silicon Valley's General Catalyst

In the next 12 to 18 months, InspeCity is proposing four missions to be conducted in-orbit, as part of its RIG-X, VEDA-X and SAMA-X road map. These missions are to be a step-by-step validation of propulsion, sensing, autonomous operation, robotics, docking and refuelling capabilities in the space environment.

The funding follows the rising investor interest in the space-tech ecosystem in India. Skyroot Aerospace has raised a $50 million Series C investment, while EtherealX and Bellatrix Aerospace have raised a $21 million Series A investment and a $20 million Series A investment, respectively. In December 2025, Digantara's raised Rs 50 million in Series B financing; Agnikul Cosmos raised Rs 150 crore in its Series C funding in November 2025.

Other Indian space-tech companies, such as Dhruva Space, GalaxEye, and Pixxel are also scaling up their space-data solutions, earth observation and satellite infrastructure capabilities. The new fundraise by InspeCity brings an additional boost to the growing commercial space industry and the deep-tech ecosystem in India, especially in the field of autonomous orbital servicing and satellite life extension technologies.