GalaxEye is a space technology startup incubated at IIT Madras and based in Bengaluru. Founded in 2021 by five engineers from the institute, the company designs and manufactures satellites that combine Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) with multi-spectral optical sensors on a single platform, fusing the two data streams in real time. The approach, which the company calls OptoSAR, is intended to produce inherently aligned, analysis-ready Earth observation imagery that is unaffected by cloud cover or lighting conditions.
The company's first product, Mission Drishti, is described as the world's first commercial OptoSAR satellite and India's largest privately built satellite. It delivers fused imagery at a resolution of 1.8 metres, the highest among private players in India, and yields roughly three times the information of standalone sensors. The technology spans satellite design and manufacturing, radar and optical imaging, and real-time radar-optical data fusion.
GalaxEye plans a constellation of 30 satellites over the next five years, with the stated aim of making high-quality satellite imagery as accessible and dependable as a utility. The work is deep-tech hardware engineering, spanning Earth observation, sensor fusion and geospatial intelligence for critical sectors.
