Modern autonomous navigation, high-speed mobility, and critical infrastructure rely heavily on satellite positioning and timing. But conventional navigation systems such as GPS, Galileo, and NavIC transmit signals from medium Earth or geostationary orbits, tens of thousands of kilometres away.
These signals weaken before reaching the ground, making them vulnerable to atmospheric disturbances, electronic jamming, and spoofing.
Existing satellite navigation systems generally provide an average accuracy of around five metres. That margin of error is too wide for Level 2+ driver assistance systems, which handle functions such as steering and lane-centring, or for determining whether a vehicle is travelling on a highway or an adjacent service road.
Hyderabad-based Sanyark Space is developing satellite infrastructure designed to provide centimetre-level navigation accuracy alongside direct satellite-to-device communication.
The startup was incorporated in July 2025 by two former scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
CEO Raghava Kundrapu studied aerospace engineering at IIST and spent eight years at ISRO, contributing to 40 national missions. He later worked as a space technology consultant at Deloitte for three years. CTO Akhileshwar Reddy Peseke, an IIT Madras graduate, spent 13 years at ISRO developing navigation satellites.
Building satellites for navigation and communication
With a team of 35, Sanyark Space is designing software-defined low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that operate at altitudes of 500 km to 1,000 km.
By operating roughly 20X closer to Earth than conventional navigation satellites, the company’s systems are designed to deliver signals up to 100X stronger, making them more resistant to ground-based jamming.
The satellites are being developed for two purposes. They will transmit high-accuracy correction data to complement existing GPS, Galileo, and NavIC constellations, while also providing independent positioning, navigation, and timing signals.
They will also carry Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication channels, allowing a single satellite to support both positioning and data transfer for autonomous systems.
Sanyark Space is designing its satellite signals to work with existing ground hardware. End-user devices, such as automotive receivers, are expected to access the correction services through software updates without requiring hardware replacements.
The startup designs its payloads, antennas, radio frequency components and circuit boards in India. It imports non-ITAR-regulated chip-scale atomic clocks and advanced system-on-chip electronics.
For satellite bus integration and cleanroom assembly, the company works with space infrastructure partners, including Xilinx Labs and Agista, to reduce capital expenditure.
Testing and launch plans
Sanyark Space is currently developing its hardware and has validated its position-correction algorithms using ground receivers.
According to the company, field trials conducted in Hyderabad using commercial receivers achieved positioning accuracy of less than 20 cm.
The startup expects its core technology to reach Technology Readiness Level 6 by mid-October, which involves validating a functional prototype in an operational environment.
It plans to test its payload using high-pressure balloons before launching its first proof-of-concept satellite with SpaceX in the first quarter of 2027. A second satellite for navigation and communication is planned for the fourth quarter of 2027.
What's next?
Sanyark Space operates in the business-to-government (B2G) and business-to-business (B2B) segments.
Its initial focus is on developing custom satellites for defence and government organisations, alongside commercial applications in automotive systems, drones, and timing infrastructure.
The startup is currently pre-revenue and has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Avaana and AUM Ventures.
Sanyark Space plans to deploy 40 satellites in its first phase to provide persistent coverage across India, the Middle East and South Asia.
Over the longer term, it aims to expand to a global constellation of 240 satellites.
Sanyark Space is part of YourStory's Tech30 cohort—a showcase of India's most promising startups of 2026, unveiled at TechSparks Bengaluru.
Edited by Teja Lele