InspeCity

InspeCity Space Laboratories builds vehicles and subsystems for servicing satellites that are already in orbit — extending their working lives, moving them, and pulling dead ones down. The company was founded in 2022 by Arindrajit Chowdhury, a professor at IIT Bombay, and his student Tausif Shaikh, and works out of Thane in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Its flagship platform is VEDA, short for Vehicle for Life Extension and De-orbiting Activities, a servicing vehicle meant to carry green propulsion, a robotic arm and rendezvous, proximity operations and docking sensors up to a client spacecraft.

Each element of the stack carries its own name. GITA, the Green Impulse Transmitter, is a refuellable propulsion unit; RAMA is a multi-degree-of-freedom Remotely Actuated Motorized Arm; CHAKSU is an artificial-intelligence-assisted tracking sensor unit for close approaches; and RIG, the Robotically Inserted Guidance System, is the part that attaches to the client satellite. The company has also described building an autonomous robotic platform on top of POEM, the orbital experiment module ISRO assembles from the spent fourth stage of a PSLV. Its published roadmap places development of GITA, RAMA, CHAKSU and VEDA in 2023 to 2025, commercialisation of GITA and VEDA in 2026 to 2028, and a habitat concept called AYODHYA in 2029 to 2032.

Outside capital has arrived in two rounds. A $1.5 million pre-seed closed on 25 April 2023, led by Speciale Invest and co-led by Antler India and Veda VC, with Anicut Capital and DeVC India also taking part; before it the company had drawn a ₹1.5 crore grant through the defence ministry's iDEX programme and ₹10 lakh from IIT Bombay's TIH Foundation. A $5.6 million seed round followed on 7 May 2025, led by Ashish Kacholia alongside Speciale Invest, Shastra VC, Antler India, DeVC, MGF-Kavachh and Anicut Capital. Inc42 put the running total at more than $7 million; Entrackr reported $7.1 million.

Defence work has run alongside the commercial plan. InspeCity says it signed iDEX's 250th contract on 15 May 2023 — the first under the Ministry of Defence's Mission DefSpace, covering a micropropulsion system for CubeSats — and that in November 2024 it won two iDEX Prime X challenges set by the Defence Space Agency, one for a ground-controlled space-grade robotic arm for orbital transfer vehicles and one for an object identification system combining LIDAR and electro-optical sensors; Forbes India separately reported an earlier iDEX win. The flight schedule has stretched in the meantime. In October 2023 the founders said they were preparing to launch a tiffin-box-sized CubeSat propulsion system that year, and that the first flight would attempt no docking or robotic work: “we are not going to do any kind of docking or robotic applications. We are just going to get close, go around, observe, and measure parameters like distance, attitude, the rate of change of attitude and so on”. At the seed round in May 2025 the company said the money would space-qualify its technologies within the next 12 months, and the VEDA demonstration mission was reported as planned for 2027. In August 2026, appointing the space and telecommunications veteran Rajeev Gambhir as executive vice-president, InspeCity said it employed about 70 people and wanted about 150 engineers and scientists by the end of the financial year.

What they build and operate

• VEDA · Spacecraft · In development
  Vehicle for Life Extension and De-orbiting Activities: a servicing vehicle carrying propulsion, robotics and rendezvous-and-docking systems to client satellites; its demonstration mission was reported as planned for 2027.^[2][1][10]
• GITA · Engine · In development
  Green Impulse Transmitter, the eco-friendly propulsion system for InspeCity's servicing vehicles, which the company describes as refuellable and quick-responding.^[10]
• RAMA · Component · In development
  Remotely Actuated Motorized Arm, which the company describes as a multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm with integrated sensors for satellite repair and diagnostics.^[10]
• CHAKSU · Component · In development
  Comprehensive Artificial intelligence enhanced Satellite TracKing Sensor Unit, which the company describes as an AI-assisted navigation and tracking system for precision docking.^[10]
• RIG · Platform · In development
  Robotically Inserted Guidance System, the autonomous attachment and servicing element that docks with a client satellite for life extension or de-orbiting.^[10][4][5]

Funding

• 25 April 2023 · Pre-seed
  $1.5 million — Speciale Invest, Antler India, Veda VC, Anicut Capital, DeVC India^[4][5]
• 07 May 2025 · Seed
  $5.6 million — Ashish Kacholia, Speciale Invest, Shastra VC, Antler India, DeVC, MGF-Kavachh, Anicut Capital^[1][2][3]

Milestones

• 25 April 2023
  Raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round led by Speciale Invest and co-led by Antler India and Veda VC, after earlier grants of ₹1.5 crore through iDEX and ₹10 lakh from IIT Bombay's TIH Foundation.^[4][5]
• 15 May 2023
  Signed what the company says was iDEX's 250th contract, the first under Mission DefSpace, covering a micropropulsion system for CubeSats.^[13][12]
• 05 October 2023
  The founders said they were preparing to launch a tiffin-box-sized CubeSat propulsion system that year and that the first flight would attempt no docking or robotic operations; the VEDA demonstration was later reported as planned for 2027.^[6][2]
• 20 November 2024
  Announced wins in two iDEX Prime X challenges set by the Defence Space Agency, for a ground-controlled space-grade robotic arm and a LIDAR and electro-optical object identification system.^[14][12]
• 17 December 2024
  Signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan's Orbital Lasers to study laser-equipped satellites for debris removal and in-space servicing.^[7][12]
• 07 May 2025
  Raised a $5.6 million seed round led by Ashish Kacholia and said the money would space-qualify its technologies within the next 12 months.^[1][2][3]
• 28 July 2025
  Published a joint white paper with Orbital Lasers on integrated operation of space laser and robotics technologies.^[12]
• 06 August 2026
  Appointed Rajeev Gambhir executive vice-president and said it employed about 70 people, with a target of about 150 engineers and scientists by the end of the financial year.^[8][9]

Leadership

• Arindrajit Chowdhury
  Co-founder and chief executive officer (as of 06 August 2026)^[8][9]
• Tausif Shaikh
  Co-founder (as of 07 May 2025)^[1][6]
• Rajeev Gambhir
  Executive vice-president (as of 06 August 2026)^[8][9]

Sources

1. Inc42InspeCity Bags $5.6 Mn To Build Satellite Servicing Solutionsinc42.com↗
2. EntrackrSpacetech startup InspeCity raises $5.6 Mn in Seed roundentrackr.com↗
3. EvertiqInspeCity secures $5.6M to boost satellite life-extension techevertiq.com↗
4. Business TodaySpacetech start up InspeCity raises $1.5 million in funding, to build celestial factories for its space city dreamsbusinesstoday.in↗
5. EntrackrSpace tech startup InspeCity raises pre-seed roundentrackr.com↗
6. Forbes IndiaInspecity Space Laboratories: Providing in-space succour to satellitesforbesindia.com↗
7. Inc42InspeCity Partners Japanese Startup To Tackle Space Debrisinc42.com↗
8. TechGraphInspeCity Space Laboratories Appoints Rajeev Gambhir as Executive Vice Presidenttechgraph.co↗
9. The PioneerInspeCity Space Laboratories Appoints Rajeev Gambhir as Executive Vice Presidentdailypioneer.com↗
10. InspeCityOur Technologyinspecity.com↗
11. InspeCityOfficial siteinspecity.com↗
12. InspeCityIn The Newsinspecity.com↗
13. InspeCityInspeCity signs the 250th contract of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)inspecity.com↗
14. InspeCityiDEX Prime X Challenge Winnersinspecity.com↗