Ex-ISRO engineers' OXG Space raises Rs 17 crore to test 'cell towers in orbit'

OXG Space, a Bengaluru space technology start-up founded by two former ISRO engineers, has raised Rs 17 crore (about $1.8 million) in a funding round led by Aum Ventures through its India Innovation Fund II. The round was announced on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Skyroot Aerospace co-founders Pawan Kumar Chandana and Bharath Daka invested alongside, as did Dr Chiran Phanindra, founder of the space start-up Cosmoserve. OXG Space will use the money for Mission Synapse, a 12-month programme to demonstrate its core technologies in orbit.

OXG Space is trying to solve a delay problem in the satellite business. Earth observation satellites often store their images until they pass over a ground station, so it can take four to 12 hours before customers receive useful information. The start-up wants to build a network in orbit that combines communication links, inspired by the non-terrestrial parts of 5G networks, with computing done in space. Investors have described this as putting "edge cell towers" in orbit. If satellites can process data and send results quickly through such a network, a defence agency or a disaster-response team could see what is happening on the ground much sooner.

The deal is also a sign of how India's private space sector is maturing. Founders of earlier space start-ups now investing in the next wave is a pattern seen in older start-up ecosystems, and it brings both money and technical advice. The founders' ISRO background, including work on the Chandrayaan missions, is the main asset at this stage, since the company is still to fly its technology.

For the investor, the round is part of a larger plan. Aum Ventures is raising its India Innovation Fund II with a target of Rs 750 crore, and OXG Space is among its deep-tech bets.

For young engineers and would-be founders, the story shows a route that is becoming more common: years inside a government space programme, then a start-up built on that experience, with early cheques from fellow space founders.

Short-term: The company will build and prepare its demonstration payloads over the next 12 months: the Ka-band antenna, the mesh reflector and the solar array that will power its computing and communication equipment.

Long-term: A successful demonstration would let OXG Space raise larger rounds and sign customers for a full network. It would also add India to the small group of countries with companies working on computing and networking in orbit.

Who is affected: Indian defence and intelligence users who need faster satellite data, commercial satellite operators, space start-up founders and engineers, and investors in Indian deep-tech companies.

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