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How Sanjay Nekkanti Built Dhruva Space With A Valuation Of $38.2 Million?

By Viestories
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Sanjay Nekkanti made his 1st satellite at the age of 19, and today he runs a $38.2 million business.

How does this journey begin?

First, meet Sanjay Nekkanti, who, at the age of 19, built his 1st satellite and also knew that he would make a significant contribution to the space industry. So, Sanjay completed a Master of Science (M.S.C.) in space science and technology from 2010 to 2012 at Lulea University of Technology.

Furthermore,

Sanjay became a part of the team that built India's first student nano-satellite project, India's first private satellite, and also the Velox series of satellites from Singapore.
Do you know what this man did recently?

Recently, Dhruva and his team raised $9.4 million (Rs78 cr.) from the IAN Alpha Fund, the Technology Development Board, and other investors in a combination of debt and equity to establish a 2.8 lakh-square-foot spacecraft facility.

Sanjay wanted to make his contribution to the space industry.

That's why Sanjay decided to lead the privatisation of the satellite industry in India. With this vision in 2012, Sanjay founded his Hyderabad-based startup, Dhruva Space, which is India’s 1st private space-tech company.

In the space industry, Sanjay and his team are developing an indigenous small satellite platform.

Sanjay enables organisations, with his rich experience working with start-ups and mid-sized businesses, to build products and services in the areas of small satellites, satellite technologies, sensors, and connected devices.

In 2022, the company made history as the 1st privately owned Indian company. Dhruva Space’s 2 nanosatellites, Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2, were launched by ISRO.

Sanjay Nekkanti received many honours and awards, including:

Scholarship Award for the Satellite 2014 Conference, Issued by the Space Generation Advisory Council. In August 2011, the Georges Charpak Scholarship was issued by the French Government.

Sanjay Nekkanti says, “Entrepreneurship is full of unforeseen challenges at every step. But for those who are passionate about building something from the ground up, the reward of seeing our vision not just come to life but also solve some very critical problems is worth the fight.”

This is how a passion led this man into entrepreneurship and build a $38.2 million company.

About Dhruva Space

Founded in 2012 by Sanjay Nekkanti, Chaitanya Dora Surapureddy, Abhay Egoor, and Krishna Teja Penamakuru, Dhruva Space is a full-stack Space-Engineering solutions provider, active across the Space (Satellite Platforms & Subsystems), Launch (Deployers) and Ground (Earth Stations) segments.

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