Pixxel-Led Consortium Signs Agreement with IN-SPACe to Build India’s National EO Constellation

Bengaluru, India, Wednesday, 21 January 2026: Pixxel, a planetary intelligence company that builds and operates some of the world’s most advanced imaging satellites, formalised its agreement with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) today to build India's national Earth Observation constellation. Leading a consortium of four Indian space companies, Pixxel will design, build, own, and operate the country's first privately-led national satellite system under a Public-Private Partnership framework.

The signing marks a watershed moment for India's space sector, the country's first private-led national Earth Observation constellation and one of the largest public-private partnerships in Indian space history. It represents a fundamental shift from exclusively government-built systems to private industry designing, financing, and operating critical national assets, positioning India among a select group of nations capable of deploying advanced multimodal EO constellations through private-sector leadership.

Commenting on the signing, Awais Ahmed, Founder and CEO of Pixxel, said: “This is a powerful declaration of India’s intent in space. For the first time, India will control its own Earth intelligence infrastructure, designed and operated by Indian companies, serving Indian needs first and global markets second. By entrusting this ₹1,200+ crore national project to a consortium of Indian startups, the government validates the country's private space ecosystem and its ability to deliver infrastructure on a global scale. This is what the new space economy looks like: private sector speed and innovation, deployed at national scale.”

Led by Pixxel, the consortium comprises Pixxel, Dhruva Space, PierSight and Satsure, combining complementary strengths in space hardware, analytics, and mission operations to create an end-to-end ecosystem spanning satellites, ground infrastructure, value-added services, and end-user analytics. 

Over the next five years, the consortium will invest over ₹1,200 crore to deploy 12 satellites spanning very high-resolution optical, multispectral, SAR, and hyperspectral imaging. The programme will provide reliable access to EO data for Indian government users, coordinated through IN-SPACe, while also enabling global commercialisation across sectors such as agriculture, environment, infrastructure, energy, and maritime.

This mission also advances Pixxel’s goal of building a full-stack intelligence and infrastructure layer to serve as a health monitor for the planet. Moving beyond occasional observation to continuous understanding, Pixxel’s planetary intelligence data will reveal patterns, risks, and opportunities before they become crises.

With this milestone signing, the consortium’s focus now turns to execution and delivery: building a constellation that will shape how India produces, uses, and shares Earth observation data in the years ahead, in close partnership with the government to deliver large-scale strategic impact.