- Benchmark’s first India bet: Skyroot
- Nava’s $200 million AI infrastructure pitch
- No cover for PB Fintech, other insurance stocks
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Benchmark’s first India bet: Skyroot
Benchmark has spent years backing US companies before they became household names. Now, the Silicon Valley VC is making its first known direct bet in India.
- And it has picked a rocket startup.
Driving the news: Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace is in advanced talks to raise a whopping $280-300 million from a clutch of global investors including Fidelity, General Catalyst and Benchmark, sources told us.
The turnaround: Less than a year ago, Skyroot was struggling to close a fundraise. Now, it is stitching up one of the biggest private funding deals in India this year.
- The catalyst was the July 18 launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed orbital launch vehicle – turning what was once a high-risk deeptech bet into a much more tangible commercial proposition.
- The cheque sizes are getting serious: Fidelity could invest $170-190 million, General Catalyst $70-80 million and Benchmark $20-30 million, making this a meaningful global investor vote of confidence in Indian space-tech, per sources.
A $300 million private round for an Indian space startup would have sounded almost fanciful a few years ago.
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