GrowX Ventures Fund has made a partial exit from space tech startup Pixxel, marking the first liquidity event from its US$25 million fund I launched in 2019.

The exit yielded a 17x return on capital and a 68% IRR over 5.5 years, though growX still holds a notable stake in Pixxel.

Founded by Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal in 2019, Pixxel builds hyperspectral imaging satellites for use in agriculture, energy, mining, and environmental monitoring.

Pixxel has raised US$95 million across nine rounds, with its latest US$24 million series B extension backed by GIC, Google, Radical Ventures, and others in December 2024.

GrowX fund I backs early-stage B2B startups in sectors such as fintech, SaaS, healthtech, and space tech, with investments in Bellatrix Aerospace, Zuddl, and more.

🔗 Source: YourStory

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ India’s space tech ecosystem is maturing rapidly with substantial growth projected

The 17X return on growX’s investment in Pixxel represents one of the first major liquidity events in India’s nascent space tech sector, signaling a maturing ecosystem.

India’s space economy, currently valued at approximately $8.4 billion, is projected to grow dramatically to $44 billion by 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 48% 1.

This growth is being fueled by government reforms implemented since 2020, including the establishment of IN-SPACe to facilitate private sector participation and liberalization of FDI policies allowing 100% foreign direct investment in satellite components and systems 2 3.

The government has also created a ₹1,000 crore (approximately $120 million) venture capital fund specifically to support space tech startups, demonstrating institutional commitment to the sector’s development 2.

Despite a 35% year-over-year decline in overall funding to $81 million in 2024, the number of investment deals has actually increased, suggesting continued investor confidence in the sector’s long-term potential 4.

2️⃣ Early investors in Indian deep tech are beginning to see significant returns

growX’s partial exit from Pixxel with a 68% internal rate of return demonstrates that early-stage investors who took risks on frontier technologies in India can achieve substantial returns despite long development timelines.

The fund made its investment in 2019 when, as noted by growX partner Sheetal Bahl, “there was no roadmap for building a full-stack space tech company in India,” highlighting the risk tolerance required for such investments.