Indian aerospace space Arctus Aerospace raises $2.6 million from global investors

Bengaluru-based Arctus Aerospace has raised $2.6 million in a pre-seed funding round backed by a group of global deeptech investors. 

The round was led by Version One Ventures, South Park Commons and gradCapital, with participation from Balaji Srinivasan, Srinivas Narayan who is the CTO for OpenAI’s B2B applications, early Ather engineers and leaders associated with Bounce Infinity and Boom Supersonic. 

Arctus was also part of the Founder Fellowship at South Park Commons earlier this year.

Founded in 2023 by Shreepoorna S Rao, Arctus Aerospace is building high-altitude autonomous aircraft for real-time Earth observation. Its aircraft are designed to fly at 45,000 feet for up to 24 hours while carrying a 250-kilogram payload. The platform supports SAR, hyperspectral, optical, EO and IR sensing, enabling strategic-grade geospatial intelligence at commercial costs.

The startup said the new capital will help it deepen its full-stack manufacturing and engineering setup, which it is building entirely in-house. Arctus operates aircraft that currently fly above 10,000 feet, achieving centimetre-level accuracy and real-time downstream data. All aircraft development, manufacturing and testing take place at its 25,000 square foot facility in Bengaluru. 

“Our mission is to eliminate all ground infrastructure required to monitor, inspect, or understand the planet on centimetre level resolution. By flying large unmanned aircraft at high altitudes for long durations, we are building the foundation for true zero-infrastructure Earth intelligence. When executed, will kill satellite-based commercial Earth observation,” said Shreepoorna S Rao, Founder and CEO of Arctus Aerospace.

Boris Wertz, Founding Partner at Version One Ventures, said, “Arctus is developing high-altitude aviation capability that can redefine how high-value sensing and Earth observation are delivered. Their engineering depth and vision for zero-infrastructure intelligence make it a new market creation product which can unlock a lot of value for commercial players.”

Aditya Agarwal, General Partner at South Park Commons, said, “Building a company like Arctus takes a rare combination of audacity, fearlessness, creativity and the will to succeed. These are the qualities that we saw in Shree from the early days at SPC and why we are so excited to be his partner in this adventure. We have a real chance here to make a dent in the universe.”