Agnikul Cosmos — profile, milestones and news

AgniKul Cosmos designs small satellite launch vehicles around rocket engines printed as a single piece of metal. Founded in 2017 and incubated at IIT Madras in Chennai, the company first test-fired its Agnilet semi-cryogenic engine in February 2021 and fired it again on the Vertical Test Facility at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in November 2022. Its orbital vehicle, Agnibaan, is a configurable two-stage launcher 18 metres long and 1.3 metres in diameter, sized to place a 100 kg satellite into a 700 km orbit; the company's own mission page also lists a later flight carrying up to 300 kg to low Earth orbit.

The company's only flight so far is Agnibaan SOrTeD, a 6.2-metre single-stage sub-orbital technological demonstrator that lifted off at 07:15 IST on 30 May 2024 from Agnikul Launchpad-01 at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota — the first launch in India from a privately built pad. Agnikul logged 66 seconds of powered flight and said the controlled vertical ascent met its objectives, and ISRO called it the first controlled flight of a semi-cryogenic liquid engine realised through additive manufacturing. The vehicle reached that pad only after four scrubs: an attempt on 22 March 2024 postponed the day before, a 6 April attempt that did not proceed, a 7 April countdown cancelled at T-minus 92 seconds over technical issues, and a 28 May attempt called off less than a minute before liftoff.

An orbital debut has slipped repeatedly. Announcing its $26.7 million Series B in October 2023, Agnikul said its maiden launch was set for the end of that year. Days after the SOrTeD flight, co-founder and chief executive Srinath Ravichandran put the first orbital attempt nine to 12 months away, by the end of the 2024-25 financial year or early in the next one. As of August 2026 the company's mission page schedules its first orbital flight for the first quarter of 2027 and a second for the second quarter, and Agnibaan has yet to fly to orbit.

Funding has continued through the wait. Agnikul raised an $11 million Series A in March 2021 and a $26.7 million Series B in October 2023 that Entrackr reported took its total to $40 million, then a round of ₹150 crore, reported as $17 million, in November 2025 at a $500 million valuation from investors including HDFC Bank, Artha Select Fund and 100X.VC. In March 2026 Tamil Nadu's TIDCO approved a ₹25 crore equity investment under the state's 2025 startup investment policy, and in May 2026 The Tech Portal reported the company was in talks to raise $50 million to $75 million at a flat $500 million valuation, putting FY24 revenue at ₹9 crore against ₹43 crore of losses. Propulsion has moved faster than the schedule: a three-engine semi-cryogenic cluster fired in February 2026, the one-metre Agnite booster engine followed in March, and on 19 May 2026 the company announced a four-engine cluster firing at its Rocket Factory-1 that it described as an Indian first. In July 2026 former ISRO chairman S. Somanath joined the board as an observer while Agnikul prepared Mission 02, which aims to recover an orbital-class booster and convert the Agnibaan upper stage into an in-orbit platform.

What they build and operate

Agnibaan · Launch vehicle · In development
Configurable two-stage small launcher, 18 metres long and 1.3 metres in diameter; the company's mission page lists a first orbital flight carrying up to 100 kg to low Earth orbit and a second carrying up to 300 kg.^[1][15]
Agnibaan SOrTeD · Launch vehicle
Single-stage 6.2-metre suborbital demonstrator that flew once, on 30 May 2024, with 66 seconds of powered flight before splashing down in the Bay of Bengal.^[5][15][2]
Agnilet · Engine · Operational
Semi-cryogenic engine 3D-printed as a single piece with no assembled parts; first test-fired in February 2021, fired again at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre on 8 November 2022, and flown in May 2024.^[1][4]
Agnite booster engine · Engine · In development
One-metre single-piece 3D-printed booster engine test-fired in March 2026, which Agnikul says produces thrust at a scale that makes booster recovery trajectories tractable.^[1][14]
Mission 02 · Programme · Announced
Announced mission to recover an orbital-class first stage by controlled descent and ocean recovery and to extend the Agnibaan upper stage into an on-orbit platform, using an architecture patented in India, the US and Europe.^[14]

Funding

March 2021 · Series A
$11 million^[8]
October 2023 · Series B
$26.7 million (₹200 crore) — Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, Artha Venture Fund, Artha Select Fund, Mayfield India, pi Ventures, Speciale Invest^[8]
November 2025 · Growth round at a $500 million valuation
₹150 crore ($17 million) — Advenza Global, Atharva Green Ecotech, HDFC Bank, Artha Select Fund, Prathithi Ventures, 100X.VC^[9][10]
14 March 2026 · State equity investment under the TIDCO Startup Investment Policy 2025
₹25 crore — Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation^[11][1]

Milestones

February 2021
Test-fired the Agnilet semi-cryogenic engine, printed as a single piece of hardware with no assembled parts.^[1]
28 November 2022
Inaugurated India's first private launchpad and mission control centre at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.^[1]
17 October 2023
Raised a $26.7 million Series B and said its maiden launch was set for the end of 2023; the rocket did not fly until 30 May 2024, and no orbital flight had followed by August 2026.^[8][15]
07 April 2024
Cancelled the Agnibaan SOrTeD countdown at T-minus 92 seconds over technical issues, the third postponement after scrubs on 22 March and 6 April 2024.^[3]
28 May 2024
Called off a fourth Agnibaan SOrTeD attempt less than a minute before liftoff.^[2]
30 May 2024
Flew Agnibaan SOrTeD from Agnikul Launchpad-01 at Sriharikota with 66 seconds of powered flight — the first flight of a single-piece 3D-printed engine and India's first launch with a semi-cryogenic engine.^[4][5][15]
02 June 2024
Co-founder and chief executive Srinath Ravichandran said the first orbital launch was nine to 12 months away; as of August 2026 the company's mission page schedules it for the first quarter of 2027.^[7][15]
November 2025
Raised ₹150 crore, reported as $17 million, at a $500 million valuation.^[9][10]
February 2026
Test-fired a cluster of three semi-cryogenic engines simultaneously, an Indian private-sector first.^[1]
14 March 2026
Tamil Nadu's TIDCO approved a ₹25 crore equity investment, the first deployment under the TIDCO Startup Investment Policy 2025.^[11]
19 May 2026
Announced the simultaneous firing of four 3D-printed semi-cryogenic engines as a cluster at Rocket Factory-1, synchronising eight pumps and eight electric motors.^[13]
16 July 2026
Former ISRO chairman S. Somanath joined the board of directors as an observer as the company prepared Mission 02.^[14]

Facilities

Rocket Factory-1 · Chennai, Tamil Nadu
In-house facility where Agnikul 3D-prints its semi-cryogenic engines and where the four-engine cluster firing announced in May 2026 took place.^[13][1]
Agnikul Launchpad-01 · Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh
India's first private launchpad and mission control centre, inaugurated in November 2022 and used for the 30 May 2024 Agnibaan SOrTeD flight.^[1][5][15]

Leadership

Srinath Ravichandran
Co-founder and chief executive officer (as of 16 July 2026)^[14][11]
Moin SPM
Co-founder and chief operating officer (as of 16 July 2026)^[14]
S. Somanath
Observer on the board of directors (as of 16 July 2026)^[14]

Sources

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