Hyderabad-based space tech startup TakeMe2Space has raised $5 million in a seed funding round led by Chiratae Ventures to build India’s first orbital data centre infrastructure.
The round also saw participation from Unicorn India Ventures, Artha Venture Fund, and Seafund. The company will use the funding to expand its satellite constellation, scale in-orbit AI computing capabilities, and advance research on high-power compute satellites.
Founder and CEO Ronak Kumar Samantray said in a statement, “2026 has started with the [scheduled] launch of MOI-1, our first major orbital satellite powering OrbitLab. I am excited for the next phase of TM2S, where we will grow from a single satellite-based solution to a networked satellite-based solution.”
MOI-1 is a 14 kg satellite scheduled for launch on January 12 this year, aboard ISRO’s PSLV C-62 mission. This satellite features the MIRA space telescope and aims to serve as a functional ‘AI lab in space’ for approximately 15 customers.
He added that team expansion will be a priority in the coming months, from 17 employees to around 50–60 across engineering and sales roles.
Samantray also told AIM that the upcoming MOI-2 satellite would replicate MOI-1, increasing the company’s total in-orbit compute capacity to 200 watts. He added that the forthcoming AaduSat mission would demonstrate propulsion systems for orbit maintenance and validate optical satellite links. The satellite will also test silicon-based solar cells in orbit, rather than traditional 3J-GaAs cells typically used in space for concentrated solar power.
Founded in 2024, TakeMe2Space is building high-compute satellites and an orbital platform that would allow customers to run AI models directly in space. As Samantray expressed in a previous interview, “Our goal is to ensure that everybody’s ideas can be taken to space. You don’t have to be at NASA, ISRO, or an IIT to run an experiment in space. Sitting in Kerala, Delhi, or even Antarctica, you should be able to operate a satellite.”
The company plans to deploy six satellites to support its OrbitLab platform, which offers near-real-time AI inferencing for Earth observation users. These will have around 5 kilowatts of in-orbit compute capacity and will use optical links to communicate with each other, a step the company says is key to its long-term data centre vision.
The capital will help deepen the startup’s presence in India, the United States, and Australia. It will also strengthen ties with ground station and assembly partners, and scale customer support to accelerate adoption.
Ranjith Menon, managing director at Chiratae Ventures, said the firm sees strong potential in the company’s approach. “TakeMe2Space is rethinking access to orbit by turning satellites into shared infrastructure,” he said, adding that the team’s execution ability drove the investment decision.
The startup has tested its MOI-TD (My Orbital Infrastructure – Technology Demonstrator) previously aboard ISRO’s SpaDeX mission in December 2024. It successfully demonstrated the ability to upload large AI models to a satellite, run external code and downlink encrypted results.
The company has also validated its radiation shielding technology in orbit, which it says extends satellite life while using standard electronic components.
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