GalaxEye Space
GalaxEye Space is developing a novel “hybrid imaging” satellite constellation that will combine optical and radar (SAR) sensors on a single microsatellite. By fusing these two modalities, GalaxEye’s satellites (each carrying its proprietary “Drishti” sensor) can produce all-weather, day-and-night high-resolution images - e.g. radar can see through clouds and at night, while optical provides true-color detail. This unique capability is expected to offer richer data for applications like disaster management, where continuous monitoring is crucial. The company was born out of an IIT-Madras student team’s success in the SpaceX Hyperloop competition. Currently in R&D, GalaxEye has built a prototype of its hybrid camera and is working towards launching its first satellite in 2024/25, aiming for a constellation of 15 satellites within a few years.
Hybrid EO Satellites: GalaxEye’s 100 kg class satellites each carry “Drishti”, a patented sensor payload that captures perfectly co-registered optical and SAR images. This provides a unique dataset – for example, detecting hidden objects under cloud cover or at night (SAR advantage) while also identifying their color/texture (optical advantage). The planned constellation of 15 satellites will offer daily revisit globally with 0.5 m resolution imagery, delivered as an analytics-ready layer to clients.
Data Services: Although the first satellite is yet to launch, GalaxEye is already engaging pilot customers in sectors like insurance, wherein the hybrid data can be used for faster post-disaster assessments (flooded infrastructure, etc.). Eventually, they plan to sell “insights” (e.g., detecting specific changes) rather than raw images.
Meet the Team
Founders
Suyash Singh (Co-founder & CEO) and Denil Chawda (Co-founder & CTO), two IIT-Madras graduates who teamed up with their professor Dr. Satya Chakravarthy to start GalaxEye. Suyash and Denil were part of the Avishkar Hyperloop student team that was the only Asian finalist in SpaceX’s 2019 Hyperloop Pod Competition. They credit that experience of rapid engineering and global competition - for inspiring their entrepreneurial journey. Prof. Chakravarthy (the same IIT-M professor involved in Agnikul) serves as an advisor in GalaxEye.
Other Team Members
Prateek Vaishnav (Chief of Operations) - ex-ISRO engineer overseeing satellite integration. Siddharth B (Head of AI) - leads development of the fusion algorithms to combine optical/RF data. GalaxEye’s board includes Krishnakumar Natarajan (Mela Ventures, ex-Infosys co-founder) after the Series A, reflecting a blend of space and IT mentorship
