The Second Episode of Crafting Bharat: Deep Tech with GalaxEye

Unveiling stories of founders shaping India’s tech landscape, featuring Suyash Singh, Co-founder & CEO of GalaxEye.

India’s space sector can be broadly, though not exclusively, divided into two major domains: commercial and research. Over the past three years, India’s space-tech start-ups have attracted significant capital, with early-stage investments leading the charge. However, late-stage start-ups, the ones most likely to deliver tangible results, continue to face funding challenges. While India’s space-tech ecosystem presents fertile ground for new ventures, not all are thriving.

To highlight these innovations, NewsReach recently launched Crafting Bharat: Deep-Tech Edition, powered by Innovation Venture Studio, in collaboration with Speciale Invest, BYT Avenue, and Faad Capital. This series brings you inspiring stories of visionaries shaping India’s tech landscape. This episode focuses on Galaxeye, a pioneering company building the world’s first constellation of multi-sensor imaging satellites capable of monitoring our planet from space.

Catch Nithish Kumar, an Investment Analyst at Speciale Invest, with Suyash Singh, Co-founder & CEO of Galaxeye, who shares his journey from being an engineering student to co-founding a start-up that recently secured $10 million in a Series A funding round.

Could you take us back to your Hyperloop journey and its impact on GalaxEye?

Meeting Elon Musk at the SpaceX Hyperloop finals in July 2019 was surreal—a dream moment for me and my team. It marked the culmination of our journey with Avishkar Hyperloop, a deep-tech project from IIT Madras focused on building pods for high-speed travel in vacuum tubes.

The Hyperloop competition wasn’t just about transportation; it was about “sparking innovations and exciting students to push the boundaries of science and engineering.” This vision inspired me in 2017 when I stumbled upon the competition online. That night, I couldn’t sleep, thinking, “If I can’t build this team or project from IIT Madras, it would be difficult to do it anywhere.”

Our first attempt in 2018 was overambitious, combining complex technologies like magnetic levitation and eddy current braking. We failed to qualify but learned valuable lessons. I funded a trip to the U.S. to understand the competition and realized we needed to simplify our approach. As I later said, “We were very, very overambitious about doing many things in Hyperloop.”

In 2019, we refined our design and became the only Asian team to qualify for the finals. Showcasing our pod at SpaceX alongside the world’s best teams was transformative. “It wasn’t just about media coverage—it caught the attention of leading technocrats and sparked conversations.” Meeting Elon Musk was a byproduct of the effort we poured into the project, from building the pod to managing a talented team, many of whom are now pursuing advanced research at global institutions.

How did you identify the gap in satellite imaging?

The idea for GalaxEye emerged during a corporate stint when I was working on assessing the damage caused by the California forest fires. I turned to satellite imagery as a solution, aiming to use computer vision and AI to quantify the impact. However, I quickly realized the limitations of existing imagery—most of it was obscured by clouds and smoke, making it unusable.

At that point, I came across Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, which could penetrate clouds and smoke and even capture nighttime images. While SAR was a breakthrough in availability, it had a significant drawback: it was incredibly unintuitive and difficult to interpret. On the other hand, traditional multispectral imagery was easier to understand but often unavailable in adverse conditions.

This sparked a key insight: “Could we create satellite imagery that is both always available and easy to understand?” The concept was clear—combine the strengths of SAR and multispectral imaging into a single satellite to provide reliable, intuitive data regardless of weather or time.

Excited by the challenge, I reached out to my former Hyperloop teammates and said, “Let’s assemble—we have an interesting problem to solve.” The team quickly rallied behind the idea, bringing their deep-tech expertise to the table.

The goal was to simplify satellite imagery, not just for large organizations but for everyday users. For instance, imagine a final-year university student accessing intuitive satellite data to build software applications without wrestling with its complexities. With GalaxEye, we aim to make satellite imagery accessible, understandable, and available all year round.

How did it feel to be recognized by the Prime Minister?

Speaking with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Mann Ki Baat was an incredible honour and a surreal experience for our team. It’s not every day that you get to share your vision with the highest office in the country, and the fact that he spent 20 minutes engaging with us left us feeling deeply humbled and grateful.

What stood out the most was how effortlessly he grasped and articulated our mission. When we explained how our satellite technology could support both agriculture and defense, he summed it up beautifully, saying, “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan.” That moment resonated deeply because it showcased his understanding of the broader impact of our work. As I mentioned during the interaction, “He articulated GalaxEye much better than us.”

Having the Prime Minister acknowledge and encourage our efforts at such an early stage in our journey was incredibly motivating. It felt like a pat on the back, urging us to push boundaries and achieve even greater milestones. Reflecting on that day, we couldn’t help but feel proud, overwhelmed, and inspired—it’s a moment we’ll always cherish.

What drives you and the team to tackle such challenges?

It’s the love for problem-solving and the belief in our capability to make a difference. Hardware or software doesn’t matter—it’s about addressing real-world gaps with passion and innovation. Challenges energize us, and milestones like HAPS testing reinforce our belief in the journey.

Tune in to the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvaM5f7whOQ

What’s the big dream for Galaxy?

Best satellite data company in the globe.

GalaxEye represents India’s rising prominence in the global tech arena, showcasing how passion and innovation can transcend resource limitations. By addressing critical gaps in satellite imaging, the company is on track to revolutionize industries across the globe and redefine what’s possible.

Stay tuned to Crafting Bharat: Deep-Tech Edition, where we spotlight India’s visionary founders who are transforming bold ideas into groundbreaking realities and redefining the future of technology.

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