When Mukesh Bansal, the IIT Kanpur alumnus who founded Myntra in 2007, sold it to Flipkart, and later built Cult.fit into India’s largest organised fitness network wrote a cheque for Skyroot Aerospace in its earliest days, India’s private space sector barely existed. Regulations were restrictive, technology was unproven, and the idea that a private Indian startup could build and launch a rocket to orbit was considered ambitious to the point of being impractical by most investors. Bansal invested anyway. That ₹12 crore investment, made approximately eight years ago, is now estimated to be worth around ₹700 crore, a return of nearly 60 times on his original capital.
The major value creation occurred in the days following July 18, 2026, when Skyroot’s Vikram-1 rocket successfully reached a 450-km low-Earth orbit under Mission Aagaman, making India the world’s third country with private orbital launch capability and making Skyroot’s investors extremely wealthy.
“Rs 12 crore investment in Skyroot turns into Rs 700 crore: How Myntra founder Mukesh Bansal’s bet raked in nearly 60x returns in 8 years. The successful launch of Vikram-1 has dramatically re-rated Skyroot’s valuation.”~Moneycontrol
The Early Bet: When Nobody Else Was Willing To Back A Private Space Startup
When Skyroot Aerospace was still a young startup, many investors considered India’s private space industry too risky. Questions surrounded regulations, technology development, funding requirements, and commercial viability. Instead of waiting for certainty, Mukesh Bansal chose to back the founders when the company was still in its infancy. That decision required confidence in both the leadership team and India’s future in the global space economy.
Skyroot was founded in 2018 by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Bharath Daka both former ISRO scientists who left the security of government research to build India’s first private rocket company. The early years were spent navigating an unfamiliar regulatory landscape, building proprietary propulsion technology, and convincing institutional investors that a private Indian company could deliver what only government space agencies had managed before.
Bansal’s board membership at Skyroot listed alongside Cult.fit on his public profile reflects an involvement that goes beyond passive capital. As a repeat founder who has built and scaled multiple technology businesses from scratch, his experience navigating product development, team building, and stakeholder management would have been as valuable to Chandana and Daka as the capital itself. In the World Economic Forum’s profile of Bansal, Skyroot is specifically cited as one of his “promising investments”, a startup “building solid engine rockets to carry satellites to space.”
“Skyroot Aerospace’s successful Vikram-1 orbital launch has made early backers very wealthy. Mukesh Bansal’s ~₹12 crore early investment is now estimated at ₹700 crore — nearly 60x returns in 8 years. The Mission Aagaman launch made India the 3rd country with private orbital capability.”~Inc42
What Made The Bet Pay Off: A Launch That Changed Everything
The Vikram-1 launch under Mission Aagaman was more than a technological milestone; it was a commercial value turning point that re-rated the entire company. Before the launch, Skyroot’s valuation represented the risk and uncertainty of a pre-revenue, deep-technology business in a field with little commercial history in India. Skyroot became a proven orbital launch provider after a successful orbital insertion with six payloads on board, a category with a tiny global membership but huge commercial demand from satellite operators, government agencies, and defense organizations.
Over time, institutional investors also joined the company, but being among the earliest believers gave Bansal the opportunity to participate in one of India’s biggest startup success stories. His investment demonstrates that venture capital is not simply about finding companies that already look successful. It is often about recognising exceptional founders before everyone else does.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally called the Skyroot team to congratulate them, noting that their average age of 28 years made the achievement even more remarkable. That national attention, combined with the commercial milestone of orbital success, positions Skyroot for a fundraising environment and potential IPO trajectory that its pre-launch valuation could not have anticipated.
“Mission Aagaman – Vikram-1 successfully reaches orbit. Six payloads deployed at 450km LEO. This is for every dreamer in India. We’re just getting started.”~Pawan Kumar Chandana
A Pattern Of Early, Conviction-Led Bets: Groww, Skyroot, And Beyond
The Skyroot gain is not an exception in Bansal’s investment portfolio; it follows a history of early, conviction-driven decisions that have consistently produced outsized returns. His investment in Groww, a retail investing platform that has since become one of India’s most popular fintech products, was also made at a time when the company’s future was uncertain. Groww has since achieved unicorn status and established itself as India’s largest platform for retail stock and mutual fund investing.
Bansal’s venture studio Meraki Labs has supported Skyroot, Groww, Nextleap, and other startups, receiving backing from Peak XV Partners and Accel. The studio model providing not just capital but active mentorship, networks, and operational guidance reflects Bansal’s belief that early-stage deep-tech companies need more than money to succeed. They need founders who have been through the journey themselves and can help them navigate the moments where insight and experience matter more than capital.
With Skyroot now in orbit and a valuation that has delivered 60x returns on his original investment, Mukesh Bansal’s eight-year bet on India’s private space sector has produced one of the more extraordinary angel investment outcomes in the country’s startup history.
