India’s armed forces have long relied on state-run satellites or foreign favors to see through the fog of war. Bengaluru-based Sisir Radar wants to end that dependency. The startup has secured $7 million in Series A funding, a war chest intended to put India’s first private Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite into orbit by 2026.
The round was led by 360 ONE Asset, with participation from Shastra VC, an existing investor that is doubling down after backing the company at the seed stage. The fresh capital signals a shift in India’s space ecosystem, where venture capital is beginning to flow into deep-tech hardware that was previously the sole domain of government labs.
According to Tapan Misra, the company’s founder, the goal is not just participation but dominance in a niche frequency.
Space-based radar is the difference between guessing and knowing. India can’t afford to guess.
From State Labs to Venture Scale
Misra isn’t a typical twenty-something founder pitching a dual-use thesis. He spent four decades deep within India’s state space apparatus, serving as the architect behind ISRO’s RISAT mission. That project gave India its first all-weather, day-night imaging capability. Now, he is taking that institutional memory into the private sector.
Insiders close to the deal suggest Misra’s transition was driven by a realization that traditional government programs could no longer keep pace with modern security needs. Troops require faster tasking, and disaster management agencies need tailored imagery rather than generic maps. By moving to a venture-backed model, Sisir aims to apply startup velocity to deep space hardware.
The funding will be utilized to execute a complex technical roadmap:
- Expanding the specialized engineering team required for radar payload development.
- Securing manufacturing partners and locking in launch slots.
- Building a ground segment capable of delivering data to customers in near real-time.
The L-Band Bet
The commercial SAR market is already crowded with players like ICEYE, Capella Space, and Maxar, but most operate in the X-band frequency. Sisir Radar is taking a different path by focusing on L- and P-band payloads.
Unlike optical satellites that are blinded by night or cloud cover, SAR systems send radio waves to image the Earth. Sisir’s focus on longer wavelengths (L and P bands) allows for deeper penetration. This technology can see through dense foliage, loose soil, and camouflage, making it particularly valuable for detecting hidden infrastructure or mapping terrain changes during monsoon seasons.
Global SAR is crowded, but L- and P-band at high resolution is still a frontier. If Sisir executes, it gives India a lever it doesn’t currently have.
Defence Validation and the Road Ahead
For deep-tech startups, the primary risk is often finding a paying customer. Sisir has already cleared early hurdles on this front, having won two competitive challenges under the Defence Innovation Organisation’s iDEX program. These wins involve building specialized SAR satellites for the Indian Air Force, providing crucial early validation under strict operational requirements.
While the company has not disclosed its valuation, the $7 million injection extends its runway to move from payload development to full system integration. The timeline is aggressive: a launch target of 2026 leaves little room for the delays that often plague hardware startups.
The business model relies on a dual-use strategy. On one side, the company targets sticky, high-value defence contracts. On the other, it aims to serve commercial sectors like mining, agriculture, and infrastructure, which require subsurface insights that optical imagery cannot provide.
If Sisir Radar succeeds, it won’t just be a win for its investors. It will mark a maturation point for the Indian private space sector, moving from launch vehicles and software to complex, strategic orbital assets.
