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Skyroot Aerospace has become the country’s first space-tech unicorn after raising $60 million (around Rs 570 crore) in a fresh funding round led by Sherpalo Ventures and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.

The Hyderabad-based startup was quoted in various media portals as saying the round also drew participation from BlackRock, the founders of Greenko Group, Arkam Ventures, Playbook Partners, Shanghvi Family Office and several other investors. While Playbook Partners and Shanghvi Family Office joined as new backers, Sherpalo, GIC, BlackRock, Greenko Group and Arkam Ventures increased their existing investments in the company.

Moneycontrol reported that following the latest capital infusion, Skyroot’s valuation has climbed to $1.1 billion, more than doubling from its 2023 valuation of about $519 million. The milestone makes the company India’s first unicorn in the private space sector and one of the country’s most heavily funded space-tech ventures.

As part of the investment, renowned Silicon Valley investor and Sherpalo founder Ram Shriram will join Skyroot’s board. Shriram is widely recognised as one of Google’s earliest backers and currently serves on the board of Alphabet Inc.

Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and chief executive of Skyroot Aerospace, said the investment reflected growing confidence in the company’s ambitions ahead of the launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket.

“We are excited about the upcoming Vikram-1 mission, which represents a major milestone not only for Skyroot but also for India’s space ecosystem,” Chandana said.

Shriram said he had backed the company from its early days and remained confident in its long-term vision.

“Access to space remains one of the defining challenges of our time,” he said. “Skyroot is building critical infrastructure for the future with a strong cost-to-performance advantage in orbital launches.”

Skyroot carried out its first successful launch mission in 2022 and is now preparing for its next orbital launch in the coming weeks. The company said the fresh funding would help it increase the frequency of Vikram-1 launches, expand manufacturing capabilities and accelerate development of Vikram-2, a larger launch vehicle powered by an advanced cryogenic stage.

With the latest round, Skyroot Aerospace has now raised more than $160 million in total funding.