Skyroot hits orbit: the $1.1bn cab meter is now running
Vikram-1 reached Low Earth Orbit in 16 minutes on Saturday and validated the entire Skyroot thesis in one burn: India's first space unicorn ($1.1bn, pre-orbit — imagine the re-rate) is now the only private orbital launcher outside the US and China. Scarcity plus capability. You know what that does.
The product is dedicated small-lift — 350kg payloads, your satellite, your orbit, your schedule. 'Cab service to space' is the correct framing and the correct comp is Rocket Lab, except Skyroot's addressable market includes a domestic space program planning astronauts next year, Venus in 2028, a space station by 2035, AND a stated 70-80% international book. Rocket-a-month factory capacity in Hyderabad. The bottleneck was never demand; satellite operators wait YEARS for slots. They just unclogged the pipe.
Portfolio notes: long space-debris removal (they flew a robotic arm — cleanup is a future regulated utility, get in pre-regulation), long lab-grown diamonds (the Cosmic Bloom lotus is the greatest product placement in orbital history), long German small-sat makers who now have a cheaper ride.
Two Isro engineers quit their jobs in 2018 for this. That's the trade of the decade and my barber is FURIOUS he can't buy in yet. When the IPO comes: size accordingly. NFA.