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Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Friday announced the names of the 24 Indian space tech startups that have been shortlisted to take part in its 14-week Space Accelerator programme. As part of this initiative, the chosen startups will receive specialised technical training and mentoring from experts in the space tech domain.
This comes after the cloud services company signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in 2023 to jointly support the growth and development of space startups in the country.
“This is the fourth consecutive year that AWS has run a Space Accelerator program, but the first one we’ve tied to one specific country,” Clint Crosier, director of the Aerospace and Satellite business, AWS, said.
“We specifically chose to hold this first country-focused space accelerator in India, because we see extraordinary growth opportunities in the India space sector. There are a record number of new Indian space startups forming, there is strong support from the Government of India as evidenced by our MoU with ISRO and IN-SPACe, and India has some of the best educated and proficient talent in the world in the technical areas that encompass space. We are pleased to see many talented space startups participate in this exciting program,” Crosier added.
As part of the programme, AWS said that it will offer the 24 shortlisted startups over US $100,000 cumulatively in AWS credits as well as additional technical support.
“The startups selected for the AWS Space Accelerator operate in a range of space segments such as spacecraft propulsion, orbital and launch vehicles, satellite imagery, geospatial applications, weather analysis, space tourism, among others,” read an official press release by AWS.
The 24 shortlisted space tech startups include:
India’s space sector recently embarked on a new chapter after Chennai startup Agnikul Cosmos on May 30, successfully pulled off the launch of its Agnibaan SOrTeD rocket which was powered by the world’s first single-piece 3D printed semi-cryogenic engine. In 2023, the Indian government announced significant policy reforms such as the relaxation of FDI norms that were aimed at bolstering entrepreneurial activity in India’s domestic space tech market which is reportedly poised to be worth USD $44 billion by 2033.
