September 05, 2024 | Authors: Reeva Dani and Valerie Mendonca
PierSight Space is an Ahmedabad-based spacetech startup founded by Gaurav Seth and Vinit Bansal in September 2023. It is building a constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Satellites for improved coverage and real-time insights into the oceanscape. SAR technology enables all-weather imaging of the world's oceans, making persistent maritime surveillance an objective possibility. It unlocks the potential for real-time situational awareness and costs significantly less than existing solutions for ocean monitoring. PierSight aims to provide insights and maritime intelligence that are proactive rather than reactive after an incident.
Potential use cases of PierSight’s SAR constellation
The domain of space affairs has expanded rapidly in the last decade. Earth is currently encircled by over 9900 satellites, 84% of which are in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and nearly 2800 satellites are slated for launch [each year](https://nanoavionics.com/blog/how-many-satellites-are-in-space/.). Space-based and enabled applications have humanitarian potential beyond revenue generation. They are crucial in climate monitoring, food security, and disaster management. Consequently, the space sector has seen accelerated growth in the last decade.
The Indian government has fostered a supportive entrepreneurial environment and policy framework to facilitate spacetech expansion. Most recently, it implemented the Indian Space Policy of 2023, which encourages greater private sector participation in the entire value chain of the space economy. Additionally, the 2024 Union Budget announced an INR 1000 crore (approximately USD 125 million) venture capital (VC) fund to grow the space economy and drive spacetech research and innovation at a commercial scale.
Indian Space Policy 2023
PierSight is part of a rapidly growing cluster of spacetech ventures utilising data and insights from space to solve problems on Earth. According to a 2023 Deloitte report, downstream applications—which refers to the deployment of space assets for solving problems on Earth—are the space economy’s most critical revenue and impact-generating segment. In particular, within Earth Observation (EO), the ability to provide high-resolution and reliable imagery of the planet has immense disruptive potential. These startups are solving crucial socioeconomic and strategic challenges in a progressively competitive space.
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Spacetech startups in India have engaged end-to-end in the spacetech value chain, attracting significant investment and media interest. They have made strides in crafting indigenous launch vehicles, satellites, and communication systems, creating infrastructure to ease space operations, and building apparatuses and systems that solve climate issues and mitigate space pollution.
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These startups are based in cities like Bengaluru—with a well-developed technological nucleus—or Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai—where they can leverage collaboration and incubation with academic behemoths. Their technological capabilities benefit from the entrepreneurial ecosystems for spacetech in these regions. There is a general perception and assumption that Ahmedabad lacks the concentration of spacetech resources that would enable startups to thrive. In this context, Gaurav and Vinit’s decision to establish PierSight in Ahmedabad seems counterintuitive to investors and other stakeholders.
The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Model developed by Daniel Isenberg examines the role of social, cultural, economic, and structural factors in the entrepreneurial journey. Broadly defined, an ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’ is a “set of interdependent actors and factors coordinated in such a way that they enable productive entrepreneurship within a particular territory.” The domains of policy, markets, culture, finance, human capital, and support networks interact in elaborate and dynamic ways. Alongside the entrepreneur's ability to leverage resources and networks, these elements influence startup outcomes.
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We apply Isenberg’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Model to analyse if and how PierSight is leveraging the evolving spacetech ecosystem. Our inquiry is also influenced by the general perspective that Ahmedabad is not the nexus of a technological ecosystem.
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Domains of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem; adapted from Isenberg and Onyemah (2016).
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As of 2023, according to an estimate by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey, the global space economy is valued at USD 630 billion and is projected to reach USD 1.8 trillion by 2035.
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India’s space economy is 2-3% of the global pie – valued at USD 8.4 billion. According to internal estimates by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), it is anticipated to grow to USD 44 billion by 2033.
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Governments and the private sector are increasingly collaborating on space exploration efforts in India and globally. Space capabilities are increasingly becoming a distinct factor in calculating the global balance of power. The new space race is somewhat entrepreneur-centric—motivated by commercial, scientific, and societal goals. The global Earth Observation (EO) segment of the space economy is currently valued at USD 3 billion. It is expected to grow three-fold to USD 9-10 billion by 2035. At present, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) operates a constellation of about 44 remote-sensing satellites, but constraints of coverage, data capture frequency, and use-cases have limited its commercial applications.
Source: Space: The USD 1.8 Trillion Opportunity for Global Economic Growth.
There is a growing end-user demand for frequent and consistent analytics that are site or use-case specific. Indian spacetech startups have been experimenting with and developing new imaging technologies to provide tailored satellite data insights. PierSight is developing its SAR satellite constellation for the specific purpose of maritime surveillance. It is building unique vantage points of the world’s oceans, which enables them to build for broader coverage and increased persistence, and provide data and analytics in real-time.
Space-oriented technological prowess is growing into an integral element of national power, and consequently, the regulatory environment for spacetech has undergone significant amendments. In 2023, the government announced the Indian Space Policy that enables Non-Government Entities (NGEs) to engage end-to-end in all domains of the space sector. The policy revisions reflect the understanding that bringing in the private sector can address the capacity deficit for scaling spacetech, as startups are far more nimble and effective in developing new and niche technologies.
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A snippet from the policy affirms that: