Twenty-four space tech startups have been shortlisted to participate in Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) first space tech accelerator program in India - Space Accelerator: India.
The 14-week program is aimed at providing technical expertise, specialised AWS training, and mentoring from space domain and technical experts. It is a result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement AWS signed with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in 2023. The shortlisted startups also stand to receive up to US$100,000 cumulatively in AWS credits and support to build and scale their solutions. The accelerator is supported by T-Hub and Minfy, an AWS Premier Partner.
The startups selected for the accelerator operate in a range of segments such as spacecraft propulsion, orbital and launch vehicles, satellite imagery, geospatial applications, weather analysis, and space tourism. They will have the opportunity to explore how to leverage space data, and learn to build solutions using AWS technologies in Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, data analytics, and more.
“This is the fourth consecutive year that AWS has run a Space Accelerator program, but the first one we’ve tied to one specific country”, Clint Crosier, Director of the Aerospace and Satellite business at AWS, said in a statement. “We specifically chose to hold this first country-focused space accelerator in India, because we see extraordinary growth opportunities in the India space sector,” he added.
The 24 shortlisted startups include five startups from Tamil Nadu, five from Maharashtra, and four from Karnataka. Aero2Astro (Chennai), Agnihotri Aerospace (Mangaluru), Brahmaandco Spacetech (Mumbai), CoralComp (Hyderabad), Insight360.ai (Port Blair), and Cosmicport (Thoothukudi) are among the 24 startups.
The AWS Space Accelerator: India program will culminate with an event to be held in July/August 2024, where the 24 startups will present their solutions to leaders from AWS, T-Hub, Minfy, and the space sector.