GrowX Mints 17X Returns On Partial Exit From Pixxel

B2B and deeptech-focussed VC firm GrowX Ventures Fund has partially exited its investment in spacetech startup Pixxel with a colossal 17X return.

GrowX first participated in Pixxel’s $680K pre-seed funding round in 2019. Since then, it has invested INR 11 Cr in the Google-backed startup, a source aware of the development told Inc42.

The shares sold by GrowX were lapped up by existing investors Athera Venture Partners and Spartan, said another source, requesting anonymity.

The transaction generated a 68% internal rate of return for GrowX over a 5.5-year holding period, the latter said in a statement.

“This partial exit allows us to return capital while continuing to stay meaningfully invested in Pixxel’s long-term growth,” said Manu Rikhye, partner at GrowX Ventures Fund I and Merak Ventures.

This comes at a time when early bets in Indian new-age tech companies have turned into a cash bonanza for investors. Last week, sources told Inc42 that Peak XV Partners minted a nearly 10X return by fully exiting its investment in hyper logistics unicorn Porter. Peak XV, which invested INR 116 Cr in Porter, made a whopping INR 1,200 Cr on the deal.

Prior to that, it was reported that Sanjeev Bikhchandani-led Info Edge has scored 9X returns on its startup investments till date.

The development also comes against the backdrop of the India-Pakistan conflict that thrust homegrown deeptech startups into the spotlight. These include startups catering to defence tech, drone tech and spacetech sub-sectors.

Founded in 2019 by Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal, Pixxel is one such spacetech startup which grabbed eyeballs for launching India’s first private satellite network earlier this year. In January, Pixxel launched the first three satellites of its Firefly constellation aboard a SpaceX rocket from the US.

The launch was a big movement for India’s space tech ecosystem, as two more startups — Digantara and XDLINX — also launched their satellites atop the same rocket. 

Bengaluru-based Pixxel is building a constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites to serve agriculture, mining, defence and environment industries. The company claims that its satellites use hyperspectral imaging, a technology that captures highly detailed data across hundreds of light bands, to deliver insights on crop yields, monitor oil spills and country borders, among others.

Pixxel last raised $24 Mn from M&G Catalyst and Glade Brook Capital Partners as part of its extended Series B funding round in December 2024, taking its total capital raise in the round to $60 Mn. Earlier, the round saw participation from Google, Radical Ventures, Lightspeed, among others.

In all, the startup has raised $95 in funding till date.

Notably, Pixxel is the first spacetech startup in India to bag a contract from US space agency NASA.

Last year, it also inked a deal with the Ministry of Defence under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme to manufacture miniaturised multi-payload satellites for the Indian Air Force.

While Pixxel is yet to disclose its financials for the fiscal year 2024-25, the startup’s net loss grew twofold to INR 20.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 10.2 Cr a year ago. The degrowth in the bottom line came despite a surge in its top line. Operating revenue jumped nearly 86% to INR 28.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 15.3 Cr in FY23.

It competes against the likes of Skyroot, GalaxEye, Agnikul, among others, in India’s burgeoning spacetech market, which is poised to become a $77 Bn opportunity by 2030 from $15 Bn in 2023.