In an exchange filing on Wednesday (July 10), ideaForge said that it has inked a deal with GalaxEye Space Solutions to acquire its Series A Compulsory Convertible Preference Shares worth INR 8.28 Cr

The acquisition will help ideaForge develop drone-based sensors for fog and foliage penetrations, the company added

Earlier this year, ideaForge said it will be entering the US market to tap on the opportunity created by America’s reluctance to buy drones from China

Drone manufacturer IdeaForgeIdea has bought an undisclosed stake in Bangalore-based spacetech start-up GalaxEye Space for ₹8.28 Cr.

In an exchange filing on Wednesday (July 10), ideaForge said that it has inked a deal with GalaxEye Space Solutions to acquire its Series A Compulsory Convertible Preference Shares worth INR 8.28 Cr.

“We hereby inform you that the Company has entered into a Share Subscription Agreement and a Shareholders’ Agreement on July 10, 2024 with GalaxEye Space Solutions Private Limited for acquiring Series A Compulsory Convertible Preference Shares of GalaxEye Space Solutions Private Limited at a total consideration of ₹8,28,72,720,” the filing said.

The acquisition will help ideaForge develop drone-based sensors for fog and foliage penetrations, the company added.

Founded by Suyash Singh, Denilm Chawda, Pranit Mehta and Rakshit Bhatt in 2021, GalaxEye provides multi-sensor imagery via satellites, providing insights by bringing imaging data from space.

It claims to be building the world’s first multi-sensor imaging satellite. This satellite is intended to provide geospatial analyses to governments, defence, and industries.

The development comes months after ideaForge and GalaxEye have reportedly signed an agreement to jointly develop an unmanned aerial vehicle with Foliage Penetration Radar.

Founded in 2007 by Ankit Mehta, Ashish Bhat, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi, ideaForge is a drone manufacturing startup that makes UAV systems for inspection, surveillance and mapping. Its offering has utility in sectors such as defence, homeland security, mining, construction, agriculture, energy and utilities.

This is the latest among the several endeavours taken by the company lately. For instance, it expanded its ESOP pool size for its employees in June.

In the same month, Venture capital firm Celesta Capital also offloaded 3.57 Lakh shares of drone manufacturer IdeaForge in a block deal for ₹27.46 Cr.

Earlier this year, the company also outlined that it will be entering the US market to tap on the opportunity created by America’s reluctance to buy drones from China.

It is pertinent to note that spacetech sector is among the most burgeoning sectors in India with as many as 100 spacetech start-ups getting registered with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) last year. On the investment front, the sector garnered $233 million in funding across 30+ deals between 2014 and July 2023.

According to Inc42’s Indian Spacetech Start-up Landscape & Market Opportunity Report 2023, the spacetech sector is estimated to reach a market size of $77 billion by 2030.

(With Inputs From Agencies)