An IIT Bombay professor who once sat in Mumbai traffic and imagined moving infrastructure beyond Earth has taken a concrete step toward that vision. Arindrajit Chowdhury’s startup InspeCity has raised Rs 100 crore in a pre-Series A funding round to advance technologies that can service, inspect and extend the life of satellites already in orbit. The capital will support four planned in-orbit missions over the next 12 to 18 months, marking the company’s transition from laboratory validation to flight demonstration.
Chowdhury, a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Bombay, co-founded InspeCity in 2022 with Tausif Shaikh, an alumnus of the same institute. The long-term thesis behind the company is deliberately ambitious: if meaningful economic activity is to move beyond Earth, the machines and infrastructure required for that activity must be developed first. Satellite life-extension is presented as the practical first problem to solve on the path toward more complex orbital operations and, eventually, the possibility of space-based factories or habitats.
From Academic Research to Orbital Ambition
Chowdhury’s background combines academic research in combustion, propulsion and optical diagnostics with collaborations involving Indian space and defence organisations. The decision to launch a startup grew from the recognition that the rapidly expanding satellite population creates both commercial opportunity and operational risk. Thousands of satellites are expected to be launched in the coming years. A significant fraction will require maintenance, orbit correction or controlled de-orbiting at the end of their useful lives. Without effective in-orbit servicing, operators face the costly alternative of launching replacements while orbital debris continues to accumulate.
InspeCity is building a vertically integrated set of technologies for what is known as in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing. The stack includes propulsion systems, sensing and autonomous navigation for proximity operations, robotic manipulation, and docking and refuelling capabilities. These elements are being combined into progressive platforms. The near-term focus is the Remote Inspection and Guidance system, followed by the Vehicle for Life Extension and Deorbiting Activities, an autonomous platform designed to approach and interact with client satellites.
Funding and the Path to Flight
The Rs 100 crore round was led by Speciale Invest and investor Ashish Kacholia, with participation from Antler Elevate, Antler India, Manish Gandhi, Shastra VC and others. The capital follows an earlier seed round and government support through the Innovations for Defence Excellence programme. Funds will be used for flight qualification of the integrated architecture, execution of the planned orbital missions, expansion of engineering and manufacturing capacity, and further development of commercial propulsion offerings.
The four missions are structured to increase in complexity. Early flights are expected to demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations. Subsequent missions aim to achieve closer interactions, including what the company describes as a handshake between spacecraft, and to validate life-extension and de-orbiting functions. Success in these demonstrations is intended to de-risk the technology for commercial customers and government partners.
Addressing a Growing Orbital Challenge
The commercial rationale is clear. Satellite operators currently have limited options once a spacecraft is on orbit. Fuel depletion, component failure or orbital decay typically ends a mission. An ability to inspect, refuel, repair or safely de-orbit assets would change the economics of space operations. It would also contribute to the sustainability of the orbital environment by reducing the number of uncontrolled objects.
InspeCity positions its work as foundational rather than incremental. The capacity to approach, dock with, manipulate and maintain spacecraft is presented as essential infrastructure for any larger in-space economy. Propulsion systems developed for these missions are also being offered as standalone commercial products, providing a nearer-term revenue path while the more complex servicing capabilities mature.
The Longer Horizon of Space Infrastructure
Chowdhury has consistently framed satellite servicing as the first chapter of a broader story. The question that guided the founding of the company was what machines must exist before economic activity can reliably occur beyond Earth. Autonomous robotic platforms capable of operating in the harsh environment of orbit are seen as a necessary building block. Over time, the same technologies could support assembly of larger structures, maintenance of orbital assets, and the gradual emergence of more permanent facilities.
The company has emphasised that sophisticated in-space capabilities can be designed, built and operated from India. Government programmes and private investment are viewed as complementary. Success in the upcoming flight demonstrations would strengthen the case for Indian participation in the global market for orbital services and position the country as a contributor to the next phase of space activity rather than solely a launch provider.
Execution Ahead
Raising capital is only the beginning of the next phase. Hardware development for space remains demanding, timelines are measured in years rather than months, and flight qualification carries inherent risk. InspeCity’s plan concentrates on sequential, increasingly capable missions that build confidence in the integrated system. Parallel commercialisation of propulsion technology is intended to generate early market feedback and revenue.
For Chowdhury, the journey from an idea formed in Mumbai traffic to a funded programme of orbital tests represents a deliberate progression. The immediate goal is practical: extend the useful life of satellites and reduce debris. The longer vision remains the development of the infrastructure that would make sustained activity beyond Earth feasible. With fresh capital and a clear sequence of flight demonstrations ahead, InspeCity is moving from concept and component testing toward the more demanding test of operating complex systems in space itself.
The outcome of the planned missions will determine how quickly the company can offer commercial services and how far its foundational technologies can ultimately reach. For now, the focus is on execution—flying the systems, qualifying the architecture, and proving that autonomous servicing is achievable.
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