Cosmoserve Space Raises $3.17 Million to Develop Autonomous Debris-Removal Craft

Overview

• Pre-seed funding totals $3.17 million (INR 28.11 crore) led by Alan Rutledge via AVCF, with AUM Ventures, Shakti VC and Ram Shriram participating.
• The company plans to expand its team and build on-ground testing facilities with the new capital.
• Cosmoserve is designing robotic spacecraft to approach orbital debris and lower it to safer altitudes for disposal, supplemented by an in-orbit refuelling depot called the mothercraft.
• The startup asserts its servicers plus the mothercraft could remove up to 100 satellites and handle non-cooperative targets, though these capabilities remain unproven in orbit.
• Founder Chiranjeevi Phanindra previously served as an ISRO deputy director on Gaganyaan and represented India at the IADC, and the venture was incubated at T-Hub in Hyderabad within India’s expanding private spacetech ecosystem.