Space startup with 3D printed rocket engine tech secures US$26.7 million in funding

As more companies look to launch their small satellites into space, be it for improved location tracking, remote sensing or internet connectivity, the demand for proportionally smaller launch vehicles to take them into orbit has…well, skyrocketed. To cater to this demand – too large for even the bigger players like SpaceX, Virgin Orbit, etc. to meet – new entrants have been stepping up. One such promising newcomer is Indian startup Agnikul, which has just raised US$26.7 million in its series-B round of funding.

What sets Agnikul’s Agnibaan (Sanskrit for ‘arrow of fire’) rocket apart from conventional ones is that it uses a single-piece engine manufactured using selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing, thus avoiding complex manufacturing and assembly operations involving thousands of individual components. The innovative zero-assembly engine, for which Agnikul got a patent last year, allows a much faster production timeline – two engines per week can be built at its factory in Chennai, India. Agnikul’s launchpad and mission control centre together form India’s first private launch facility.