How Karnataka’s Awais Ahmed Built a Space-Tech Startup, Secured a NASA Deal, and Raised ₹900 Crore

AWAIS AHMED’s early curiosity about space and technology, from living in a village without internet to becoming the co-founder of Global Space Mission Pixxel. A simple interest in space that commenced with reading books in a small village in Karnataka has now turned into a journey reaching global space missions, a NASA contract and a company valued around ₹900 crore in funding.

Pixxel was founded in the year 2018. It now runs six hyperspectral satellites capturing over 250 spectral bands, solving agriculture and environmental monitoring. Pixxel has raised ₹900 crore, earned TIME and WEF honors in the global rankings, and became the first Indian space startup with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contract. 

How Awais Ahmed Conceived the Idea for Pixxel? 

Awais Ahmed and his college batchmate, Kshitij Khandelwal laid the foundation of Pixxel in 2018. During the time period, they were working on an IBM Watson AI challenge. They were searching for satellite images and trying to understand how these satellites work but the data they needed was not easily available. The duo noticed that traditional satellites missed crucial changes on Earth. 

Ahmed and Khandelwal decided to create their own solution for these satellites, before officially launching Pixxel in February 2019. According to several reports, the founders said the early days of the startup were not easy. They started the company with money borrowed from Awais Ahmed’s father and managed their expenses within the provided resources. 

See also: Who is Satyam Kumar? Bihar Boy who Cleared IIT JEE at 12, Completed PhD at 24, Now Works As AI Researcher

Awais Ahmed’s Journey From Village To NASA

Awais journey did not begin with advanced technology or the internet. He grew up in Aldur village, Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district. Internet access was largely unavailable in his areas during early childhood years. He first discovered space through encyclopedias his father brought home. 

Awais’s early habit of reading books helped shape his entire career path. Several years later, he founded Pixxel and served as a co-founder of the tech startup. The company is speacilized in building advanced satellite systems to study Earth from space. His journey from a small village to the global space industry shows how a small curiosity can lead to bigger achievement in life. 

He wrote on his startup’s website, “Didn’t have access to the internet till I was in 8th class so I spent a lot of time reading encyclopedias on space and science and technology. High school was also the time I became fascinated with my high school’s library and my lifelong obsession with books began.”

Awais started studying Mathematics at BITS, Pilani during his initial college years. He later became a part of Team Anant, a student satellite project developed under the guidance of ISRO. Later on, he also became the engineering lead of Hyperloop India. That team competed in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition on a global level. These experiences introduced him to space technology, engineering and problem-solving. It also helped him to understand how technology can be used to solve problems on Earth.

See also: ‘The Creepiest Possible Path’: Meta Letting Facebook, Instagram Use Your Personal Posts for AI Image Generation

Pixxel’s International Recognition

The tech startup, Pixxel was placed in the TIME’s 100 Best Inventions of 2023. In 2024, the World Economic Forum named the tech startup a Technology Pioneer. The company became the first Indian space startup with a NASA contract. The company later signed a five-year contract with the US National Reconnaissance Office, expanding its role in the international space market. Co-founder Awais Ahmed has been recognized by the Forbes 30 Under 30 and MIT Innovators Under 35. 

Over the past years, Pixxel attracted various global investors. The space technology startup received support from big companies like Radical Ventures, Google, and Lightspeed. The company has now raised around $95 million, which is close to Rs 900 crore.

(Edited by Harsh Pandey)

Suggested reading: