Hyd spacetech startup XDLINX Space Labs raises $7m via seed round led by ace investor Ashish Kacholia

Hyderabad-based spacetech startup XDLINX Space Labs has raised $7 million (approximately 59 crore) through a seed funding round led by ace investor Ashish Kacholia of Lucky Investments. The round also saw participation from other investors such as E2MC, Mana Ventures, and a prominent family office from Telangana.
The startup, established in 2022, stated that the funding will accelerate its mission to develop ready-to-launch satellite platforms for global space missions through innovation and cost-effective solutions.XDLINX Space Labs CEO and co-founder Rupesh Gandupalli said, "The funding will help us to accelerate the manufacturing of next-generation payloads for defence and commercial missions like E-band communications, optical and RF intelligence to building space heritage, operationalisation of satellite bus platforms, and expand our global presence in the US and UK."
"We envision a future where space becomes more accessible by building cost-effective satellites using 75% indigenous subsystems. We look forward to contributing to India’s growing role in the global space race," he added. The startup has 70 employees and a manufacturing facility and labs in Hyderabad.
The company achieved its first major milestone when it successfully developed JANUS-1, a software-defined 6U Nanosat to demonstrate multi-tenancy payload capabilities, in a record time of just 10 months. It was launched aboard ISRO’s SSLV-D2 rocket on February 10, 2023, at a cost and time to space that was lower compared to other traditional satellites, it said.
The company is now preparing to launch its next major project, Elevation-1, touted as the world’s first miniaturised space-grade E-band payload that has been developed and is scheduled to launch aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission this month. The startup stated that Elevation-1 is the first commercial mission designed to demonstrate E-band communications with digital modulation, and the company has a defined long-term roadmap of achieving data rates exceeding 10 Gbps.
XDLINX Space Labs is also developing a 150kg class satellite hosting synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and multi-spectral optical sensors together using the XDSAT-M600 platform for a customer, which is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter of 2025. The company is also in final discussions with customers to build and launch a sub-meter multi-spectral imagery satellite constellation. Additionally, the company has signed MOUs with leading space companies for continued collaboration and development.