Space funding hits record as Skyroot becomes India's first space unicorn

India's private space sector is witnessing a funding boom, with investments surging after policy reforms opened the industry to private players

Almost six years after India ope­ned its space sector for private players in May 2020, the country’s booming private sector space industry has got its first unicorn. Launch vehicle startup Skyroot Aerospace on Thursday announced raising nearly $60 million at a pre-money valuation of $1.1 billion. 

The round was co-led by Sherpalo Ventures and GIC, a global ins­ti­tutional investor, with pa­rticipation from other existing Skyroot investors, including the founders of Greenko Group and Arkam Ventures. The founder of Sherpalo, Ram Shriram, a tech investor and a Board member of Alphabet Inc, will join Skyroot’s Board. Also joining the cap table are funds managed by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, Playbook Part­n­ers, a tech growth capital firm, Sh­anghvi Family Office, and others. 

The private sector’s race to spa­ce is drawing record funding. Acc­ording to data shared by the Indian Space Association, the easing of po­licies has helped industry funding jump 84 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024. In 2026, the industry attracted $113.5 million in the first five months alone. This was mainly driven by the $60 million funding by Skyroot Aerospace.