Lunar robotics startup Cosmochute raises $1.5 million in funding led by Accel, Prosus Ventures

Space robotics startup Cosmochute has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Accel and Prosus Ventures through the Atoms X programme.

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The round also saw participation from IIMA Ventures’ Deeptech and Aerospace Acceleration Fund, Operators Studio and Chinmayi Muthyala.

The startup plans to use the funding to develop its lunar mobility platform, expand its engineering team and advance its commercial plans.

Atoms X is an early-stage investment programme that supports startups developing technologies in areas including space, climate and healthcare. Backed by Accel and Prosus, the programme provides funding, mentorship and access to industry networks.

What does Cosmochute do?

Founded by Janhavi Gore, Amit Chowdhary and Dhruv Alok Sangal, Ahmedabad-based Cosmochute is developing robotics and transportation infrastructure to support commercial and scientific activities on the Moon.

Its first programme, LEAP, is a modular lunar mobility platform designed to transport and deploy equipment and payloads on the lunar surface.

The platform combines a rover and trailer with standardised payload bays, allowing different types of equipment to be accommodated within a common transportation system.

Cosmochute aims to address the cost and complexity of lunar missions, where transporting and deploying equipment can require engineering tailored to individual payloads.

By standardising parts of the transportation and deployment process, the company hopes to reduce the need for mission-specific engineering and make lunar operations more repeatable.

“Space 1.0 was ISRO proving India could reach orbit. Space 2.0 made orbit commercial: cheaper, more frequent, and open to private capital,” said Janhavi Gore, co-founder of Cosmochute.

“With sustainable access now secured, we believe it’s the moment for Space 3.0, what happens after you make the in-space economy operable and extend it to the surface of the Moon,” she added.

Expanding lunar robotics capabilities

Cosmochute is setting up lunar laboratories at IIMA Ventures’ incubation facility, according to reports of the funding announcement.

The startup’s scientific team includes Mylswamy Annadurai, former programme director of India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission, who is listed as its chief scientist.

Beyond LEAP, Cosmochute plans to develop broader capabilities in lunar mobility and space robotics, with potential applications in other space operations and on Earth.

Its longer-term objective is to build infrastructure that could support future commercial and scientific missions to the Moon.

“Cosmochute builds on our conviction that the infrastructure for a lunar economy can be both technically feasible and commercially viable. Their first-principles thinking, technical expertise, and systems approach is exactly what we look for,” said Pratik Agarwal, partner at Accel.