Bellatrix Aerospace raises USD 8 million from BASF VC, Inflexor Ventures and others

Space tech startup Bellatrix Aerospace on Wednesday said it raised USD 8 million (about Rs 62 crore) in an investment round led by BASF Venture Capital and Inflexor Ventures.

The series A funding round also saw participation from StartupXseed, Pavestone Capital, Mankind Pharma family office, Survam Partners, Karsemven Fund and other prominent family offices and angel investors.

Bellatrix Aerospace will use the fund to commercialise its space transportation technology as a space taxi service which can be used for placing multiple satellites in their respective orbits through a single launch vehicle, company CEO and chief technology officer Rohan M Ganapathy said.

''With this investment, we will be expanding our product portfolio, adding to our existing talent pool to broaden our expertise, augment our state-of-the-art infrastructure and focus on validation of our products in space,'' Ganapathy said.

Inflexor Ventures managing partner Venkat Vallabhaneni said that Inflexor has always taken a keen interest in technological advancements affecting the space sector ''We see the space industry is growing exponentially, and Bellatrix's products will play a major part in democratising access to the space industry with their cost-effective and power-efficient thruster systems, ideal for small satellite manufacturers,'' Vallabhaneni said.

BASF Venture Capital GmbH managing director Markus Solibieda said that the technologies being developed for use in space have the potential to offer many opportunities for the chemical industry.

''In India in particular, this (space) industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented upturn. It is BVC's task to invest in young companies with disruptive technologies. We are pleased to be able to support Bellatrix, an up-and-coming company with promising technologies for the space industry, and look forward to exploring opportunities for collaboration,'' Solibieda said.

StartupXseed Ventures managing partner B V Naidu said that Bellatrix is a well-known technology company globally for their focus on sustainability.

''As a deep technology fund and being one of the early backers of space tech through Bellatrix, we see them as a top player across Eurasia. We are very proud to do a follow-on investment for furtherance of their growth,'' Naidu said.