Entrepreneurs Hariharan Vedamurthy and Sameer Bharat Ram have launched Vaanam, India’s first private space tech accelerator, in Chennai. This initiative supports the growth of the local space startup ecosystem.
The Vaanam Space Tech Accelerator aims to transform the space technology startup landscape with the mentorship of Padma Bhushan Nambi Narayanan, a former ISRO scientist.
The advisory board features industrialist Ravi Mariwala and actor/director R Madhavan.
“There’s a wide gamut of use cases in the space tech sector in general, say from mining satellite data to mining asteroids, and there’s an ever-growing demand to bring these use cases to fruition. In India, in recent years, we’ve been seeing many startups sprouting up catering to these demands. Yet, there’s a whitespace in a solid commercialization framework to bring these great demands to market,” Vaanam Co-Founder Hariharan Vedamurthy stated.
The accelerator seeks to speed up space tech innovations and help startups achieve product-market fit. It provides commercial expertise and specialized tools as a springboard for early-stage businesses.
Dr. TRB Rajaa, Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion, and Commerce, Government of Tamil Nadu, officially launched the accelerator. Padma Bhushan Shri Nambi Narayanan also attended the event.
“Vaanam, as part of its outreach, will reach out to schools and colleges and create ‘Space Clubs’ to inculcate space thinking amongst students and young people. Workshops will be conducted as part of the club,” said Co-founder Sameer Bharat Ram.
The accelerator will focus on supporting space startups and entrepreneurs from Tamil Nadu, a region known for producing many space scientists in the past.
This development comes shortly after the Tamil Nadu government announced plans to build a Space Industrial and Propellant Park in Kulasekarapattinam, Thoothukudi district. The park will cover 2,000 acres and host the country’s second spaceport, costing Rs 950 crore.
The project will be completed in the next two years and will serve the growing small satellite sector. It will allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the space sector.
As the global small satellite market is expected to grow rapidly, the state government believes the Space Industrial and Propellant Park will attract manufacturing and research and development (R&D) firms related to space.
Narayanan urged educational institutions to collaborate with ISRO to train students from an early stage.
“Many startups are doing what ISRO is doing. We need space startups to think out of the box,” Narayanan said.
