QOSMIC raises $3.33M seed to build laser links from space to Earth

What's the deal? Bengaluru-based spacetech startup QOSMICDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised $3.33 million in seed funding to build laser-based communication systems that move satellite data back to Earth.

The round was co-led by Accel and ProsusDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, with participation from South Park Commons, ARTPARKDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and angel investor Manish Jain.

Founded in 2025, QOSMIC is developing optical communication terminals for satellites and optical ground stations on Earth. The capital will scale manufacturing, integration, and testing, plus expand engineering teams.

Why now? As many as 70,000 low-Earth orbit satellites are expected to launch over the next five years, according to Goldman Sachs Research.

That surge is creating a bottleneck. A single Earth observation satellite can generate terabytes of data daily, but traditional radio-frequency links are constrained by limited spectrum, congestion, and short transmission windows.

"Around 50-60% of satellite data never reaches the end user because the bandwidth simply doesn't exist," said cofounder and chief executive officer Shreyaans Jain. "If that data cannot come back to Earth, it has no value."

QOSMIC bets optical, laser-based links will become the next foundational layer of space infrastructure. "We are building the optical highway from space to ground," Jain said.

What could go wrong? The technology is still early. QOSMIC has field-validated its optical stack at Technology Readiness Level 6 and demonstrated data transfer over a 10km terrestrial link, but in-orbit testing comes next.

Optical communication also depends on clear skies, leaving ground stations vulnerable to weather. And the segment, while growing, remains niche.

The signal: Backing from heavyweight investors Accel and Prosus signals growing conviction that India's spacetech sector is moving beyond launch and Earth observation into the harder problem of data infrastructure. For an early-stage company founded only in 2025, co-leadership from two of the country's most active funds is an unusually strong vote of confidence in QOSMIC's bet that optical links will become foundational to the orbital economy.

Read more: The Economic Times

Image credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video