Bengaluru: Founders of only two of India’s 20 most-funded space-tech startups own more than half their companies, while founders of two others hold less than 10%, an analysis of ownership data shows.Data compiled by market intelligence firm Tracxn exclusively for TOI shows that across the 20 companies, founders own an average 30.9% of the equity, although the actual holdings vary widely as startups bring in outside investors to finance their growth.The 20 companies have together raised $647 million in equity funding. But raising capital has also meant founders giving up portions of their ownership and the extent of that dilution varies considerably.SpaceFields has the highest founder ownership among the 20, followed by Manastu Space. Sisir Radar comes close to a majority at 49.8%, while founders own 48.7% of EtherealX. Dhruva Space, which has raised $28 million, has founders holding 44.8%.At the other end, Pixxel’s ownership is dominated by a parent entity, which holds 96.2% of the company. The founders’ direct holding is less than 0.0001%. This does not necessarily mean the founders have no economic interest, but the available company filing does not attribute that 96.2% holding directly to them. SatSure is another company where founders own less than 10%. They hold 4.1%, while 34.1% is held by a parent entity and 32.4% by investment funds.Among the most-funded startups, dilution is more pronounced. Skyroot, which has raised $145 million, has founders holding 23%. Investment funds hold 43.4% and companies or corporate investors hold another 20.2%. Agnikul, with $76 million raised, has founders owning 27.4%, against 50.8% held by funds. Digantara, which has raised $66 million, has founders holding 27.3%, while funds own 62%. Bellatrix Aerospace shows a similar pattern, with founders at 26.9% and funds at 50.1%.Yet, higher funding does not automatically mean founders lose most of their ownership. Dhruva Space and GalaxEye, which have raised $28 million and $24 million respectively, still have founders owning 44.8% and 36.5%.Overall, 13 of the 20 startups have founders owning more than 25%. Four have founder ownership between 40% and 50%, while seven have holdings below 25%. Only two founders retain outright majority ownership.An industry observer, also a founder, said ownership percentages alone cannot explain how much control entrepreneurs retain. “Different companies structure deals differently, which means each of them need to be scrutinised to know what kind of powers founders retain and what they’ve foregone. There is no simple way of understanding it,” the observer said.Tracxn co-founder Neha Singh said the ownership patterns point to a maturing space-tech ecosystem. “India’s SpaceTech ecosystem is entering a new phase where the focus is shifting from experimentation to commercial scale. The ownership breakdown across India’s top 20 funded space tech entities reveals a sector transitioning from early-stage founder reliance to institutional maturity,” she said.Employee stock option pools (Esops) also form a notable part of the ownership structure, ranging broadly from about 5% to 14% across companies with such allocations. “Furthermore, sustained Esop allocations ranging indicates that access to specialised talent remains a pivotal competitive moat in deep-tech scaling,” Neha said.While institutional ownership indicates growing investor confidence following deregulation and liberalised foreign direct investment norms, Neha cautioned that access to further capital could remain a challenge as companies move towards larger, more expensive rounds needed for commercial scale.
