SIDBI hits first close of Antariksh Fund at Rs 1,005 Cr

SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd (SVCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of SIDBI, has announced the first close of its new Antariksh Venture Capital Fund (AVCF) at Rs 1,005 crore, anchored almost entirely by Rs 1,000 crore from IN-SPACe.

The spacetech-focused fund is targeting a total corpus of Rs 1,600 crore. It will invest across early and growth stages in Indian spacetech startups involved in launch systems, satellites and payloads, in-space services, ground infrastructure, earth observation, communications and downstream applications.

This is SVCL’s 12th venture capital fund and aligns with India’s ambition of building a US$44 billion space economy by 2033. With the first close completed, SVCL will now seek additional commitments from domestic and global institutional and sovereign investors under the green-shoe option.

SVCL said the fund advances priorities outlined in India’s Space Vision 2047 and complements SIDBI’s mission to strengthen MSMEs and drive innovation.

Arup Kumar, Managing Director and CEO of SVCL, said the firm has backed several category-defining companies since its first fund in 1999, including unicorns like BillDesk and Data Patterns. “The Antariksh Venture Capital Fund, India’s largest spacetech-focused fund and among the largest globally, will play an instrumental role in advancing national space capability and competitiveness,” he said.

SIDBI and SVCL together run multiple credit and investment initiatives to support India’s MSME and startup ecosystem.