Hathor Rockets details ₹14 crore pre-seed engine funding

Hathor Rockets announced a ₹14 crore pre-seed round led by IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I in a September 26 release. The fund was launched by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras Research Park and Unicorn India Ventures. The Chennai company develops liquid rocket engines. The Times of India independently identified Hathor among the fund's first four investments, although its report did not specify Hathor's round size.

The company's release says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a ₹12 crore cheque at the Sangam 2026 event in Bengaluru. It also names Kshitij Golwalkar, a general partner at Powerhouse Ventures, among the angel participants. The cheque presentation and the announced round carry different amounts; the release does not state when the money was disbursed.

IIT Madras separately confirmed the fund's first close and the announcement of funding recipients at the September 26 conference. Its release did not give a Hathor-specific investment amount.

Hathor says it plans to use the financing to qualify and commercialise semi-cryogenic, cryogenic and earth-storable engines, advance its Amogha engine, build test infrastructure and expand its team. Those uses of funds remain plans.

The company says it has designed, built and tested a first semi-cryogenic engine and targets qualification of an orbital-class engine by mid-2028. The announcement provides no independent performance data or customer delivery record; qualification remains the next stated technical milestone.