Agnikul’s New 3D Printing Facility Promises Faster, Smarter Rocket Manufacturing in India

In a landmark moment for India’s private space sector, Chennai-based spacetech startup Agnikul Cosmos has commissioned the country’s first large-format 3D printing facility dedicated to aerospace and rocket systems, reported Times of India today. Located at the IIT Madras Research Park, the facility integrates design, simulation, printing, post-processing, and testing under one roof—dramatically accelerating the production of flight-ready hardware.

image Credits – News IADN@X

“This is not just a milestone for Agnikul, it is a statement of national capability,” said Moin SPM, Co-founder & COO of Agnikul Cosmos.

Key Highlights 

• Scale & Capability: First in India to enable 3D printing of aerospace components up to 1 metre in height, previously considered too complex for additive manufacturing.
• Speed & Efficiency: Fully finished rocket engines can now be produced in just days, cutting development cycles and costs by up to 50%.
• Indigenous Innovation: Includes a homegrown de-powdering machine for flawless post-processing, ensuring space-grade quality without external dependencies.
• Patent Power: Agnikul holds a US patent for single-piece 3D-printed rocket engines. The new facility allows production of engines with seven times the thrust of earlier designs.
• Strategic Vision: The facility strengthens India’s space manufacturing ecosystem, positioning it as globally competitive in terms of quality, speed, and affordability.

Founded in 2017 and incubated at IIT Madras, Agnikul previously made headlines by launching its Agnibaan rocket from Sriharikota’s first private launchpad, Dhanush. The startup has raised $45 million to date from investors including Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, and Pi Ventures.

Agnikul was started with the goal of making space available to everyone, said Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder & CEO. “By developing not just printing capacity but also full-scale machines in-house, we are equipping ourselves to build space transportation systems faster.”

With over 250 space-tech startups now active in India, Agnikul’s new facility marks a pivotal step toward a self-sustaining, innovation-driven space economy.

Agnikul Cosmos Inaugurates its 1st Launchpad and Mission Control Center at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR

• Agnikul is the first private company in India to have built its own launchpad and mission control center at Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota
• Inaugurated by Chairman ISRO, Shri. S Somanath, this private launchpad marks the beginning of a new era in Indian Space.
• Agnikul’s upcoming guided & controlled launch will be carried out from this facility

Indian space-tech start-up Agnikul, announced the inauguration of India’s first-ever launchpad designed and operated by a private player. The facility, situated at Sriharikota, was inaugurated by Shri S. Somanath, Chairman, ISRO & Secretary, Department of Space and was attended by eminent ISRO center directors viz., Director, VSSC and Director, SDSC SHAR and Director LPSC besides other ISRO officials on November 25, 2022.

The facility which was designed by Agnikul and executed in support with ISRO and IN-SPACe has two sections to it - the Agnikul launchpad (ALP) and the Agnikul mission control center (AMCC). All critical systems connecting these two sections - which are 4 km away from each other are redundant to ensure 100% operationality during countdown.

The launchpad is specifically built keeping in mind the ability to support liquid stage controlled launches, while also addressing the need for ISRO’s range operations team to monitor key flight safety parameters during launches. Additionally it has the ability to, as necessary, share data and other critical information with ISRO’s Mission Control Center.

Agnikul Cosmos Tested Its Single Piece, Fully 3D Printed Engine at VSSC with IN-SPACe Support

• Agnikul with the help of IN-SPACe and ISRO tested its fully 3d printed engine at Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram, on Nov 4, 2022
• This marks a milestone in the development of its launch vehicle Agnibaan

Indian space-tech start-up Agnikul, has successfully test fired its single piece 3D printed engine - Agnilet at Vertical Test Facility, Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), at Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram. With the support of IN-SPACe and ISRO this test was conducted to validate the technological possibility that rocket engines can be made as a single piece of hardware. The startup had recently announced that the Government Of India has awarded them the patent for the design and manufacturing of their single-piece rocket engines.

Agnilet

Agnilet, one such single piece engine, is the world's first single-piece 3D printed rocket engine fully designed and manufactured in India, it was successfully test-fired at IIT Madras in 2021. This new test at TERLS has validated the design and manufacturing methodology followed by the startup. Also, this is a major milestone for 3D printing technology in India.

Agnikul had recently announced the inauguration of its Rocket Factory- 1, India’s first-ever rocket facility dedicated to 3D print such rocket engines at scale situated at the IIT Madras Research Park. The new state-of-the-art production house houses world-class machinery, including a 400mm x 400mm x 400mm metal 3D-printer from EOS, and a host of other machines that will enable end-to-end manufacturing of a rocket engine under one roof.

Commenting on it, Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder & CEO, Agnikul said, “This is a unforgettable moment for all of us here at Agnikul. Besides validating our in-house technology, this is also a huge step in understanding how to design, develop and fire rocket engines at a professional level. We are incredibly thankful to IN-SPACe and ISRO for making this happen. Also grateful to the Indian Government for having made such efforts possible by the creation of IN-SPACe.”

Moin SPM, Co-founder & COO, Agnikul said, “This is a major milestone for us and the Indian private space ecosystem. With the efforts of IN-SPACe, the private space ecosystem is growing in the right direction and also gets access to the state-of-art technologies to make and test world class products inside the country. Thus, directly contributing to the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar bharat initiatives.”

Founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM & Prof. SR Chakravarthy (from IIT Madras), Agnikul is on a mission to make space accessible and affordable and has its eyes set on supporting Honourable PM’s vision of enabling the building of Aatamanirbhar Bharat. The IIT Madras incubated startup became the first Indian company to sign an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in December 2020. The agreement signed under the IN-SPACe initiative helps Agnikul access ISRO's expertise and facilities to test its systems.

Agnikul has raised total funding of INR 105 Crores ($15Mn) from Mayfield India, pi Ventures, Speciale Invest, and a host of others including prominent angels such as Anand Mahindra and Naval Ravikant since 2019.

For more information, https://www.isro.gov.in/ISRO_Agnilet_Engine.html

About Agnikul Cosmos:

Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited is a Chennai, India-based start-up incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras). It is building India’s first private small satellite rocket, Agnibaan, that will be capable of carrying up to 100 to 300 kg of payload to low Earth orbits up to 700 km. The vehicle has the capability for a plug-and-play engine configuration that is configurable to precisely match the mission's needs.

For more information, visit https://agnikul.in

Space Tech Startup Agnikul Raises ₹ 23.4 Cr in Funding led by pi Ventures

Where, now, the universe is a stage, this Indian space tech company has literally put rocket science into practise, by engineering out small satellite launch vehicles, based out of Chennai. Agnikul, pioneering 3D printed single-piece rocket engines, has grabbed INR 23.4cr in a pre-series A round led by pi Ventures with participation from Hari Kumar (LionRock Capital), Artha Ventures, LetsVenture, Globevestor, CIIE and existing investor Speciale Invest. Agnikul plans to use these funds for ground testing, fabrication and team expansion.

Agnikul, operating out of National Centre for Combustion Research at IIT Chennai, is developing a satellite launch vehicle for payload capacity of up to 100 kgs. The vehicle is configurable and can support payload range of 30-100 kgs without impacting the economics. Since the engine is fully 3D printed, the manufacturing complexity associated with traditional rocket engines is moved to the design in their case, making it an easier and cheaper fabrication process that will be able to deliver launch vehicles within a few weeks, pretty much on demand. Agnikul is the only company in the world to design a rocket engine which can be printed in a single piece using 3D printing technology.

Agnikul's diverse team of rocket scientists, engineers and investors are working on the horse-blinded vision of making space both accessible and affordable.

According to reports, space industry across the globe has grown significantly into a $350 billion market with many private players entering the sector. It is predicted that in 2022, 2500+ small satellites will be launched compared to less than 500 today.

[caption id="attachment_142984" align="alignleft" width="235"] (L-R) Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM[/caption]

Srinath Ravichandran, Co founder & CEO, Agnikul, said, “We started Agnikul with the dream of bringing space within everyone’s reach. We are doing this by building nimble, reliable and modular rockets that can put small satellites in space on-demand. This round of investment from pi Ventures, Speciale Invest and others is a meaningful velocity boost to our journey and will directly help us get much closer to orbit.”

Manish Singhal, Founding Partner, pi Ventures, added, “I have always believed that India has the potential and the talent to create world-beating IPs and products, not just in the digital domain but also beyond. If done right, there is no doubt in my mind that India can be a leader in innovation on a global platform. We are proud to partner with Srinath and Moin on this journey and believe that Agnikul can be a great example of world-class innovation coming from India”

pi Ventures is a deep tech focused early stage venture fund with investments in Applied Artificial Intelligence, IoT and Blockchain. Agnikul is their first investment in what they call ‘Beyond Digital space’ which includes technology innovations that bring 10x differentiated business value but need not be digital.