Inbound Aerospace Secures $1M Pre-Seed Funding for Autonomous Re-Entry Spacecraft.

Inbound Aerospace, an innovative space-tech startup incubated at IIT Madras, has successfully raised over $1 million in pre-seed funding. The round was spearheaded by Speciale Invest, with additional participation from Piper Serica.

Founded earlier this year in 2025 by Aravind I B, Vishal Reddy, and Capt (IN) Abhijit Bhutey (Retd), Inbound Aerospace is at the forefront of developing autonomous and reusable re-entry vehicles. These cutting-edge spacecraft are designed to transport payloads into orbit for various purposes, including in-orbit technology demonstrations and microgravity experiments. A key differentiator for Inbound Aerospace's technology is its capability for the spacecraft to autonomously return with its payload and land precisely at designated locations.

The newly acquired capital will be instrumental in accelerating the research and development of its re-entry spacecraft. It will also be used to validate crucial sub-systems and achieve critical design review milestones. Inbound Aerospace is setting its sights on its first re-entry launch in late 2027 or early 2028. The founders also indicated that the company plans to secure another funding round prior to this significant test launch.