PierSight Secures $6M in Seed Funding to Revolutionize Maritime Surveillance with Satellite Technology
- ByStartupStory | January 10, 2024
PierSight, a satellite-based surveillance provider for the maritime industry, has successfully raised $6 million in its seed funding round, with Alpha Wave Ventures and Elevation Capital leading the investment, joined by Techstars, the startup’s existing investor. Headquartered in Ahmedabad, the spacetech startup plans to allocate the funds to acquire and test critical hardware, expand its workforce, and develop and launch demonstration and operational satellites.
Founded in 2023 by Gaurav Seth and Vinit Bansal, PierSight is dedicated to establishing a constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) integrated satellite technology for continuous ocean monitoring. The startup aims to provide comprehensive maritime intelligence, offering 30-minute interval monitoring capabilities to various sectors such as shipping, insurance, defense, coastguard, and the oil and gas industry.
Gaurav Seth and Vinit Bansal highlighted the critical need for their technology, stating, “Illegal fishing causes direct losses of $24 billion annually. Oil spills are difficult to monitor and combat, and are destroying delicate ecosystems. Terrorist infiltrations via sea are extremely hard to detect even for the most sophisticated of coastguards and naval forces. Persistent monitoring unlocks capabilities that weren’t previously available. Unlike traditional Earth observation solutions which are incremental, this is a step function change.”
PierSight’s immediate focus includes designing and launching a demonstration satellite on ISRO’s PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) platform, along with deploying its first operational satellite.
Navroz D Udwadia, co-founder of Alpha Wave Ventures, expressed his enthusiasm for PierSight’s potential impact on the surveillance industry, stating, “If successful, this endeavor can set a new industry standard and catalyze global efforts for sustainable marine resources usage, better oceanic logistics infra and overall align perfectly with a future where technology, sustainability and efficiencies converge for the well-being of our oceans and nations.”
The investment in PierSight reflects the growing interest and investments in India’s spacetech industry. PierSight faces competition from other players like GalaxEye and Pixxel. Additionally, the startup has gained access to IN-SPACe’s (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre’s) labs for satellite development under the mentorship of Rajeev Jyoti, technical director at the nodal agency.
Having participated in Techstars Space Accelerator program in the US and previously receiving funding from Techstars, PierSight has seen significant growth in its business pipeline both domestically and internationally, as highlighted by Matt Kozlov, MD of Techstars Space Accelerator.
Inc42’s recent research report projects India’s total spacetech market opportunity to reach $77 billion by 2030, with the maritime sector expected to account for over $3.2 billion.
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