growX Ventures clocks 17x return on partial exit from spacetech startup Pixxel

Early-stage B2B investor growX Ventures Fund has announced a partial exit from hyperspectral imaging startup Pixxel, netting a 17x return on invested capital and a 68% internal rate of return (IRR) over five and a half years.

The exit marks the first liquidity event for its $25 million maiden fund and affirms its early conviction in India’s nascent deeptech ecosystem.

Founded in 2019, Bengaluru-based Pixxel is building a constellation of high-resolution hyperspectral satellites to capture data across industries such as agriculture, energy, mining, and climate monitoring. The startup, which is backed by global investors including Google, GIC, Radical Ventures, and Seraphim, has raised $95 million across nine funding rounds and has already launched three of its six “Firefly” hyperspectral satellites on 14 January 2025, with the remaining three scheduled for Q2 2025, completing its first mini-constellation for full-scale commercial rollout within the year.

growX Ventures was Pixxel’s first institutional backer, having invested when the startup was still an idea with little precedent in India’s private space sector.

“When we invested in Pixxel in 2019, there was no playbook for deeptech in India — no exits, no benchmarks, and certainly no roadmap for building a full-stack SpaceTech company,” said Sheetal Bahl, Partner at growX Ventures Fund and Merak Ventures.

“But the idea was audacious, and the clarity was unmistakable — from a 2050 vision to the first 50 hires already mapped out. Watching that conviction translate into real outcomes is deeply meaningful.”

Pixxel’s hyperspectral imaging technology provides insights far beyond traditional satellite imagery, capturing data across hundreds of spectral bands. Its applications range from early-stage crop disease detection to environmental damage monitoring and mineral discovery.

The exit, while partial, allows growX to return capital to its LPs while maintaining exposure to Pixxel’s long-term trajectory.

“For an early-stage fund, translating bold, pioneering bets into realised returns is a powerful validation,” said Manu Rikhye, Partner at growX Ventures Fund I and Merak Ventures. “This partial exit allows us to return capital while continuing to stay meaningfully invested in Pixxel's long-term growth.”

The announcement comes as Pixxel nears commercial scale. Its satellites are already being piloted with enterprise clients across core sectors. Once live, the six-satellite constellation will offer near-daily global coverage, unlocking hyperspectral insights at an unprecedented cadence.

Pixxel’s latest funding round — a $24 million Series B extension closed in December 2024 — brought in global investors like  M&G Catalyst and Glade Brook Capital Partners.

growX Fund I has backed 17 B2B companies, including Bellatrix Aerospace, Progcap, Zuddl, AdvantageClub.ai, CynLr, Lightspeed Photonics, and 4baseCare, with a focus on deeptech, SaaS, fintech, and healthtech. While exits from deeptech bets in India have historically been rare, the Pixxel outcome sets an important precedent.

“This wasn’t a category you could hedge or pivot out of,” added Bahl. “It was a long, uncharted path — but we believed in the founders and their clarity. Now that the outcomes are real, it proves that India’s deeptech bets can scale — and return.”