Space tech start-up GalaxEye has raised around ₹8.3 crore in funding from publicly listed drone company IdeaForge in return for a minority, non-controlling stake. The partnership follows the companies’ common aim to develop tech products for the armed forces in the drone and satellite services segment.
IdeaForge said in an exchange filing that it has entered into an agreement with GalaxEye Space Solutions Private Limited to acquire Series A Compulsory Convertible Preference shares of GalaxEye for a consideration of ₹8.28 crore.
GalaxEye is an IIT Madras-incubated earth observation satellite start-up currently based out of Bengaluru with a team size of around 50 members. It is building indigenous multi-sensor imaging satellites to enable governments, defence, and industries to perform advanced geospatial analyses.
The two companies first came together last year to jointly develop a UAV FOPEN (Foliage Penetration) Radar, customised for security forces, for enhanced aerial surveillance and mapping capabilities.
Ideaforge said in the exchange filing that the objective of the stake acquisition was to leverage GalaxEye’s expertise in sensor solutions to develop drone-based sensors for fog and foliage penetration. “This will open up new use cases and create business opportunities,” the company added.
“Ideaforge is an established player in the defence industry. GalaxEye has developed a very niche technology of indigenously building Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in-house across altitudes. This partnership will enable us to jointly develop and serve tactical products for the armed forces,” a spokesperson for GalaxEye said.