Bengaluru, India, September 26, 2026: Hathor Rockets, a Chennai-based spacetech company building liquid rocket engines for launch vehicles, in-space mobility platforms, and strategic applications, today announced its ₹14 Crore pre-seed funding round, led by IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I as part of the fund's inaugural investments. The round also saw participation from angel investors including Kshitij Golwalkar, General Partner at Powerhouse Ventures, and other notable angels.
The announcement was made at Sangam 2026 in Bengaluru, where Hon'ble Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented Hathor with a cheque for ₹12 Crore, in the presence of Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan, Director, IIT Madras, marking the first close of IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I, India's first university-initiated venture fund, at ₹450 Crore. Hathor was named among the fund's first four portfolio companies, alongside Quanastra, TRIOLT Energy, and Carbelim, as announced by Unicorn India Ventures.
The capital will be used to qualify and commercialize Hathor Rockets' semi-cryogenic, cryogenic and earth-storable rocket engines, advance development of Amogha, its orbital-class cryogenic engine for small-to-medium lift launch vehicles, set up dedicated testing infrastructure, and expand its team, as the company works toward serving customers in international markets alongside its domestic pipeline.
Most launch vehicle and in-space mobility companies today end up building every subsystem, including propulsion, in-house from scratch, an approach that demands years of iteration and enormous capital long before a company reaches its first launch. And the challenge doesn't end with one engine. As companies expand into a family of vehicles, they often need to build a new engine, a process that has taken half a decade even for established players like SpaceX and Rocket Lab.
Hathor exists to solve that problem. The company builds liquid rocket engines across multiple thrust classes and propellant combinations for launch vehicles, in-space mobility platforms such as orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), lunar landers, hypersonic testbeds, and strategic applications.
"Every major hardware industry eventually reaches a point where specialization outperforms vertical integration. Today, no major aircraft OEMs build their own engines; they rely on specialized engine suppliers. A similar evolution has played out across electronics, automotive, and energy industries. With launch cadence increasing rapidly, space is reaching an inflection point where the industry demands specialization. Hathor exists to be that specialist. With our ready-to-integrate engines, our customers can focus on their missions and what makes them distinct," said Keerthivarman, CEO, Hathor Rockets.
Hathor Rockets has already designed, built, and tested its first semi-cryogenic engine, and is currently engaged with clients across North America, Europe, and India. The company is also seeing commercial interest from industrial companies and government agencies as it moves toward its first commercial deliveries.
Incubated at IIST in 2023, Hathor Rockets has also signed an MoU with IN-SPACe to access test facilities at ISRO, and has secured the NIDHI Prayas and Excelium-SINE DeepTech Innovation grants. The company has also received recognition through industry programs, including first place in the AWS APJ Spacetech Accelerator 2025 and being named a National Finalist at Boeing BUILD 5.0. Hathor was also recently featured on NDTV as part of Vande Bharatam, through which the company secured mentorship from Pawan Chandana, CEO, Skyroot, and Adani Group.
The company is targeting qualification of its orbital-class engine by mid-2028, marking a key milestone in its path toward commercial deployment and international customer programs.
About Us
Hathor Rockets (also referred as “Hathor”) is a Chennai-based spacetech startup building semi-cryogenic and cryogenic rocket engines for small-and medium-lift launch vehicle companies, in-space mobility platforms, and strategic applications. By providing ready-to-integrate propulsion systems, Hathor enables customers to focus on building their vehicles, platforms, and missions without having to develop the entire propulsion stack in-house. Hathor is building toward becoming a specialized engine supplier for the global space industry.
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