Indian deep-tech start-up Aule Space said on Thursday it has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round to advance development of autonomous satellites capable of docking with and servicing other spacecraft in orbit.
The round was led by venture capital firm pi Ventures, with participation from angel investors including Eash Sundaram, a former Intelsat board member, and Arvind Lakshmikumar, chief executive of defence technology company Tonbo Imaging.
Aule said the funds will be used to expand its engineering team, build ground infrastructure for docking trials and accelerate development of demonstration satellites planned for launch next year. The company aims to validate its rendezvous, proximity operations and docking (RPOD) technology through controlled in-orbit tests.
The start-up is developing a satellite-agnostic mechanical docking module combined with artificial intelligence-driven guidance, navigation and control software. The system is designed to approach and physically attach to target satellites that were not originally designed for docking, while keeping mass and costs low.
Aule is targeting applications including satellite life extension, in-orbit inspection and space debris mitigation, as congestion in Earth’s orbit increases. The company is positioning its autonomous “jetpack” as a solution for geostationary communications satellites, which are often retired once they exhaust station-keeping fuel despite having functional payloads.
Without in-space servicing, many geostationary satellites — collectively valued at tens of billions of dollars — stop generating revenue prematurely, the company said. Aule’s system is intended to dock with legacy satellites and take over attitude and orbit control, potentially extending their operational life by up to six years.
Founded in 2024 by Jay Panchal, Nithyaa Giri and Hrishit Tambi, Aule said it is the first Indian company developing a life-extension capability for geostationary orbit satellites and among a small group globally pursuing non-cooperative docking technologies.
Manish Singhal, founding partner at pi Ventures, said Aule combines deep technical expertise with a commercial strategy focused on orbital sustainability and space security. The company plans to launch its first RPOD demonstration satellites next year, with the goal of commercialising satellite servicing and scaling a robotic in-space servicing fleet.
