New Delhi: VyomIC, a DeepTech startup founded by IIT Madras alumni, has raised about $1.6 million (INR 14 crore) in a pre-seed funding round led by Speciale Invest, with participation from BYT Capital and DeVC. The funding will support the company’s development of a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) system aimed at providing an alternative to existing global navigation platforms like GPS and GLONASS.
The startup is developing a constellation of satellites under the name VyomIC, short for “Vyom” (Sanskrit for space) and “Indian Constellation.” The system is designed to offer centimeter-level positioning and nanosecond-level timing. Such precision has applications in defence, finance, telecommunications and autonomous systems, where dependence on foreign-owned systems raises security and reliability concerns.
VyomIC was co-founded by Lokesh Kabdal, Vibhor Jain and Anurag Patil, who previously led Avishkar Hyperloop, a student-led initiative that secured $1.25 million in funding to build a large-scale test facility in India. The team also worked on drone swarm deployments for government projects, where they observed the vulnerabilities of existing navigation systems to jamming and spoofing factors that prompted them to focus on resilient PNT solutions.
According to the company, its LEO-based system will provide stronger signal power, faster convergence and wider coverage, including in urban and indoor environments where GPS often fails. The startup also plans a spaceborne demonstration mission as part of its development roadmap. For investors like Speciale Invest, which has now backed seven space-sector ventures, the bet reflects a broader trend of Indian startups focusing on sovereign infrastructure in critical areas such as navigation and timing. VyomIC’s long-term plan is to launch a full-scale constellation serving global users, positioning itself as part of the emerging competition to traditional satellite navigation systems.
Also Read:
DSCI and Siemens Set Up OT Cybersecurity Lab in Noida to Bolster Critical Infrastructure Security
