Inbound Aerospace, a Chennai-based space technology firm, aims to secure roughly $10 million in a fresh seed round as it races toward a 2028 mission featuring a reusable re-entry vehicle.
The startup has already drawn interest from multiple backers, with existing investors Speciale Invest and Piper Serica among those in talks. Because of the round’s size, the capital would likely come from a consortium rather than a single fund.
A source familiar with the negotiations said the company sees inbound demand near the $10 million threshold and described the response as strong. Final terms and structure remained unresolved, however.
Most of the proceeds would accelerate development of the firm’s reusable vehicle. That includes testing and proving out an autonomous parachute-based landing system before the planned 2028 flight. Engineers are also tackling thermal protection and refining flight controls so the craft can survive re-entry and touch down inside a 100-metre target zone.
The startup recently finished a one-kilometre drop test using a drone. Preparations now center on an eight-kilometre drop test slated for the coming weeks. Success would demonstrate precision landing capability, a critical step for returning cargo and scientific experiments from orbit.
Laboratory simulations currently indicate the vehicle could fly eight to ten times, according to the company.
Founded by Aravind I B, Abhijeet Bhutey and Vishal Reddy, Inbound raised ₹9 crore in a pre-seed round last year. IIT Madras provided early backing worth ₹27 lakh and incubated the startup at its Research Park.
Meanwhile, the firm is positioning its autonomous parachute technology as a standalone offering for defence forces and disaster response agencies. It earned provisional winner status under the government’s iDEX programme and has held talks with the Air Force and National Disaster Management Authority.
Beyond military and emergency uses, Inbound sees commercial potential in microgravity research across pharmaceuticals, materials science and semiconductors. Discussions are underway with payload developers and organizations in Singapore, Japan and the United Kingdom.
