A 10-Minute Meeting | $2.2M Investment

How Expand North Star Connected Unicorn India Ventures and SatLeo Labs

A 10-minute meeting at Expand North Star was all it took to Unicorn India Ventures to discover its next investment. What began as a brief introduction quickly sparked interest in SatLeo Labs, a promising space-tech startup. Five months later, that connection culminated in a $2.2 million seed investment.

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures, has been attending Expand North Star for a decade now, scouting for the most promising startups. It was through a pre-scheduled matchmaking meeting at the event that SatLeo Labs came onto Unicorn India Ventures' radar. Although the meeting lasted just 10 minutes, it was enough to spark serious interest in this space-tech startup.

"The platform curated by North Start for matchmaking is very good and well structured. It gave us sufficient insight into the company, its technology, and the opportunity ahead," recalls Anil. "Honestly, I realised during that first meeting that this was a company we wanted to explore further."

Following Expand North Star, Unicorn India Ventures continued discussions with SatLeo Labs team, initiating a five-month due diligence process that led to a $2.2 million seed funding round.

The Power of Curated Matchmaking

Unicorn India Ventures has experienced firsthand how meaningful connections can emerge from the right platform. The Expand North Star Investor Programme and matchmaking service have proven highly effective for the deep-tech focused venture capital fund. “I had been attending this curated investor – startup meetings since I started attending the event. I always believed in this platform. Today we have two companies in the portfolio through North Star and we expect to add one more soon” – says Anil, who describes this programme as the “highlight of the event”.

Through the platform, investors can review startup profiles, shortlist companies of interest, and coordinate meetings through the Expand North Star team. The process ensures both parties are aligned before meetings are scheduled, maximising the value of every interaction. “It gives investors access to innovative companies from around the world while creating structured opportunities to engage with founders", adds Anil.

For SatLeo Labs this was the first time participating in Expand North Star and “it proved to be a valuable experience. Founder Shravan Bhati says that “beyond fundraising, it opened doors to strategic partnerships, commercial opportunities, and stronger engagement in the Middle East market”.

Looking Ahead

One such connection led to a major investment in SatLeo Labs, alongside participation from existing investors. Since then, the Indian space tech startup transforming how thermal intelligence is captured and used from space, had a growth sprout:

  • Scaling from 8 to 30 people in under a year
  • Advancing their first thermal payload, TAPAS-1, to TRL-8 in less than six months
  • Growing commercial interest with LOIs from $15Mn to $42Mn
  • Already enabling pilots in cities like Ahmedabad and Tumakuru, impacting 400,000+ citizens

For Anil, the SatLeo Labs story demonstrates why curated investor-startup matchmaking matters and reinforces Expand North Star’s role as a valuable gateway to emerging technologies and global founders.

"I would recommend Expand North Star to both investors and startups," says Anil. "I've encouraged many investors to participate over the years and have also helped bring startup delegations from India. The opportunities to connect, learn, and build meaningful partnerships are tremendous."

SatLeo Labs founder agrees that Expand North Star should be in all startups’ events calendar and more so “with North Star being hosted alongside GITEX Global, we look forward to engaging with an even broader ecosystem of customers, partners, and investors to support our next phase of growth”.

If you're building the next breakthrough startup and looking to connect with investors, partners, customers, and global opportunities, Expand North Star is where those journeys begin.

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FACT CHECK

Unicorn India Ventures is a decade old early-stage deep tech focused venture capital fund. Over the last 10 years, the fund has invested in 50 companies across sectors such as semiconductor, robotic, space tech, robotic, enterprise SaaS. While it primarily invests at the pre-Series A stage, the fund also backs seed-stage and other early-stage startups. For more information, visit their LinkedIn page.

Satleo Labs is developing advanced Earth Observation solutions that combine thermal, optical, and AI-powered analytics to help governments and enterprises make better decisions in areas such as agriculture, climate resilience, infrastructure monitoring, and environmental management. Follow their journey here.