TakeMe2Space, the Hyderabad-based space startup that successfully demonstrated orbital AI computing with India’s PSLV mission, has set its sights on a groundbreaking 50-kilowatt orbital data center as the foundational building block for gigawatt-scale space infrastructure. After securing a $5 million seed round in January, founder Ronak Kumar Samantray revealed to SpaceNews the company now seeks $55 million in Series A funding to prove global viability in the 50-100kW compute segment where immediate enterprise liquidity exists.
Samantray brings battle-tested entrepreneurial credentials, having founded NowFloats Technologies—acquired by Reliance Industries in 2019—before pivoting to space infrastructure in late 2024. TakeMe2Space’s proprietary radiation-hardened GPU shielding, validated through extensive spaceflight testing, addresses the core technical barrier preventing terrestrial AI models from operating reliably in orbit.
Flight-Proven Technology Foundation
The company’s December 2024 PSLV cubesat mission marked India’s first successful orbital AI inferencing. Three customers uploaded models to the My Orbital Infrastructure-Tech Demonstration satellite, which remained attached to PSLV’s fourth stage, processing analytics without ground station dependency. This flight heritage validates TakeMe2Space’s onboard computer, edge processor, and attitude control systems for commercial constellations.
Precision Roadmap to Commercial Scale
TakeMe2Space executes a tiered deployment strategy balancing technical validation with revenue generation:
Q4 2026: SpaceX Falcon 9 Jetson Cubesat
- 1U satellite with Nvidia Jetson edge processor
- Live Earth observation with customer AI models
- Ground-based physical twin for constellation risk reduction
H1 2027: 100kg x 4 Optical Constellation
- 5kW total compute delivering $15M annual revenue
- Inter-satellite laser links enabling data relay
- Agriculture/insurance analytics proving commercial viability
2029-2030: 50kW Orbital Data Center
- Production module with 100TB mission-critical storage
- Continuous AI training dataset hosting capability
- Launch economics approaching terrestrial parity
Compelling Use Cases Drive Early Revenue
Agriculture and insurance sectors emerge as beachhead customers requiring low-latency Earth observation analytics. Orbital inferencing eliminates ground station windows, enabling continuous model execution across satellite passes. Recent enterprise interest highlights orbital storage as backup against terrestrial vulnerabilities—data centers increasingly targeted in geopolitical conflicts.
| Use Case | Orbital Advantage | Target Customers |
| Precision Agriculture | Real-time crop analytics, no ground link | Agri-tech platforms |
| Insurance Catastrophe | Instant claims assessment post-disaster | Reinsurers, P&C carriers |
| Mission-Critical Backup | Geopolitically resilient data storage | Defense, critical infra |
Vertical Integration = Economic Moat
TakeMe2Space manufactures all satellite components except solar cells and propulsion, achieving dramatically lower unit economics than traditional space primes. This approach mirrors SpaceX’s Falcon 9 disruption, targeting 50kW as minimum viable scale where orbital compute costs approach ground alternatives.
Samantray’s timing coincides with three converging megatrends:
- AI Democratization: Proliferation demands distributed edge compute
- EO Analytics Maturity: Real-time insights require orbital proximity
- Infrastructure Weaponization: Terrestrial data sovereignty risks
India’s PSLV reliability and SpaceX rideshare economics create perfect launch cadence. By 2029, Samantray anticipates dramatic cost declines enabling large-scale AI training dataset migration to orbit.
TakeMe2Space doesn’t just build satellites, it pioneers the compute infrastructure prerequisite for humanity’s multi-planetary future, starting with India’s 1.4 billion digital citizens proving the model at home before global scale.
Primary source: SpaceNews exclusive interview with Ronak Kumar Samantray
