In 2025, Bengaluru-based spacetech startup SpaceFields was best known for its work on solid rocket propulsion and an Aerospike engine it hoped could make rocket launches more efficient. The company was then a relatively small, IISc-incubated startup working to develop its propulsion technology and build out its manufacturing capabilities.
Just a year down the line, SpaceFieldsSpaceFields has expanded both its team and its ambitions, with defence now becoming an increasingly important part of its business.
The startup has raised Rs 53.5 crore to date, including a Rs 42.5 crore pre-Series A round. It has used the capital to establish a 45,000-square-foot R&D facility in Bengaluru's Rajajinagar Industrial area, which has received DSIR certification. Its team has grown to nearly 60 people, with hiring across aerospace engineering, materials, chemicals, avionics, and propulsion.
“We are now developing multiple different types of solid propulsion systems for different applications,” Apurwa Masook, Co-founder and CEO, tells YourStory.
From propulsion R&D to defence applications
The spacetech startup, no longer focused on a single propulsion technology, now develops customised solid propulsion systems for different platforms and applications. Its customers include Bharat Electronics, HAL, Bharat Forge, and multiple drone startups.
The B2B and B2G company has also won five Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) challenges, and now has more than 16 customers across government and private companies.
“The work is sort of similar where we are developing these custom solid propulsion systems for different applications,” Masook says. “It is bespoke to the platform because propulsion is a subsystem of the platform that it is going on.”
One area where the company is working with defence customers is the refurbishment of ageing rocket and missile stockpiles. Many systems have exceeded their shelf life, while access to their original overseas manufacturers can be limited.
“This is a large problem with the armed forces,” Apurwa says. “India needs sovereign capability in this field.” Through its iDEX projects, SpaceFields has secured multiple refurbishment programmes for different missiles.
Building the capacity to manufacture at scale
SpaceFields has also signed MoUs with defence PSUs like Munitions India Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited. The startup is now building the infrastructure to support larger programmes. It has received 121 acres of land in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, where it plans to establish a large-scale solid-propellant manufacturing facility over the next two years. The Bengaluru site will remain its design and R&D centre.
“We plan to set up our production unit in Anantapur,” the CEO says. “In the next two years we'll be planning to set up the factory or the propellant production unit there.”
The company has filed 32 patents, of which 11 have been granted, and continues to leverage IISc's facilities and expertise.
The founder says its near-term focus is converting development work into procurement. SpaceFields says it has embedded its systems through pilot programmes and iDEX projects into strategic programmes involving rockets, missiles and armaments.
“By the time we're production ready, we will have large-scale procurements coming our way parallelly,” he says.
The company has generated around Rs 6.5 crore in cumulative revenue and was last valued at less than Rs 200 crore. Its investors include Globaz Technologies, Rainmatter, Venture Catalysts, Rockstud Capital, and Jamwant Ventures.
Masook believes the broader ecosystem is moving in SpaceFields' favour, with increased investor interest and government reforms opening up the space and deeptech sectors.
“The amount of changes, reforms, and implementation in a few quarters is commendable. For us, the next phase is about turning our propulsion expertise into industrial capacity and moving from developing solid propulsion systems to supplying them at scale, ” Masook says.
SpaceFields 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