MAM
Aakhya India hires Himansh Dhomse as senior account director
MUMBAI: He spent almost nine years of the initial part of his career as a journalist with Business Standarad and DNA aa financial correspondent. In 2014, Himansh Dhomse switched careers joining the investor relations department at Infibeam in Ahmedabad. In a year and a half, Reliance Jio Infocomm lured him to head its corporate communications for the state – a post he stayed in for seven years until January 2023.
A good two years followed as a senior account director once again in home base in Ahmedabad with communications consulting firm The Good Edge. Two years later Himashu has joined Aakhya India as associate director of communications for the firm, functioning as the CMO for Gujarat, based in Gandhinagar.
Founded in 2012, Aakhya India is an independent, full-service strategic public affairs consultancy firm specialising in policy advocacy, communications and public relations. The company has specialists in communications consultancy straddling deftly the worlds of policy advocacy, government relations and strategic media relations.
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SatLeo Labs raises $5.5m seed funding led by Unicorn India Ventures
Fresh capital to power thermal satellite mission and AI data platform
MUMBAI: SatLeo Labs has raised $2.2 million in a fresh seed round led by Unicorn India Ventures, taking its total funding to $5.5 million as it steps up efforts to scale its space-based thermal intelligence platform.
The funding round also saw participation from existing backers including Merak Ventures, Java Capital, IIMA-CIIE and deep-tech investor Manish Gandhi.
The capital will be used to accelerate SatLeo’s flagship thermal satellite mission and further develop its AI-powered platform designed to deliver high-resolution thermal and visible data from low Earth orbit. The company aims to turn this data into actionable insights for sectors ranging from climate monitoring to urban planning.
Over the past year, SatLeo has scaled rapidly, growing its team from 8 to 30 specialists across satellite engineering, thermal sensing and AI-led geospatial analytics. It has also achieved a key milestone with the development of its first experimental payload, TAPAS-1, which reached near flight-ready status within six months and is now positioned for launch.
On the ground, the startup has begun translating its technology into real-world use cases. Pilot projects in cities such as Ahmedabad and Tumakuru have focused on monitoring urban heat islands and air pollution, impacting over 400,000 citizens. At the same time, its commercial pipeline has expanded sharply, with letters of intent rising from around $15 million to over $42 million within a year.
SatLeo Labs co-founder and CEO Shravan Bhati said, “Sustainability has become imperative amid accelerating climate change and rapid urbanisation. This fundraise represents a critical milestone as we move into the execution phase of our next mission.”
He added that the company is focused on scaling its satellite constellation and enhancing payload performance to deliver thermal intelligence at a global level.
Backing the startup, Unicorn India Ventures managing partner Bhaskar Majumdar said, “Space is an arena where the next wave of technological innovation will emerge. SatLeo’s ability to combine thermal and visible satellite data into real-time insights positions it strongly for long-term growth.”
Looking ahead, SatLeo plans to focus on launch readiness, expanding commercial deployments and scaling its technology stack over the next 12 months.
As demand for climate and environmental intelligence grows, SatLeo’s latest fundraise signals rising investor confidence in space-tech solutions that bring data from orbit down to everyday decision-making.
