Aule Space

I was honored to share the stage with the OG space founders Professor Satya Chakravarthy & Srinath Ravichandran, Kamal Hingorani, Liwaans Amuthan, along with the person who empowers us all, Eash Sundaram! It was great to share how I got into space tech and how Aule Space came to be. Umagine TN last week was a heck of an event, especially for the students in the audience. I hope many of them walked away inspired to consider space tech as well in their future aspirations. Thanks to all the organizers, particularly those who juggle their full-time IT jobs and still take out special time to bring such a special event together. Dr Alby John Varghese, Aravind Periannan, Sai S Sampathkumar Special thanks to PRAKASH natarajan for making a sketch of me. Apparently, he thought my face was the best one he’s ever had to turn into a cartoon. 😬

I recently pitched Aule Space at the Draper University Demo Day and ranked #6 out of 66 startups (which also meant getting to play golf with Tim Draper 😃) Super late to posting, but last month at Draper University’s Hero Program was a lot of unlearning and learning for me. We started off with reciting the Draper pledge, with the first line: “I will protect freedom at all costs.” It is a heck of a pledge to honor when “choice” for people around you is influenced by tradition and social pressure. The early weeks were a lot about unlearning: - Unlearning “failure is bad.” In schools, getting a zero or failing is the worst thing that can happen. But for startups, it’s inevitable, and a frequent teacher. - Unlearning “selling everywhere = unnecessary flex” But selling yourself and your startup is essential for survival (as it evidently became for us to sell some “cosmetics” at Fisherman’s Wharf) - Unlearning “Working in multiple directions is a lack of focus.” It’s how you find what works, and it can become the only difference between startups that die vs that survive. - one of the many advice bombs that Trevor Martin dropped That same weekend, we did a 4-day off-grid survival program with former Navy SEALs. “I will pursue fun in all that I encounter,” was easier said than done, especially during the tiring program. Even in the intense times, the kindness and get-it-done attitude of the founders around me was inspiring. (Especially everyone’s favourite Luke Maverick Ryder) The best thing was spending time with the awesome Team Lightning⚡. Being around defense/aero founders, including folks who’ve built $100M+ companies and spent 10+ years in the Army, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I learnt a lot from their hard-earned insights and even small habits like always being on time, communicating or overcommunicating, but never undercommunicating, and their bias-to-action. We also hosted a meetup for defense tech founders / VCs, which was a blast. Extremely grateful to Subah Zaeem for the invite, to the entire Draper team for the program and to the cohort members who made it what it was.

We've opened new roles for interns and FTEs to dock satellites in space. Please apply or share with your network! Full-time roles: Mechatronics (5+ YoE), Avionics (3-5 YoE), Computer Vision (1-3 YoE) & more Internship roles: GNC, Mech, Avionics, Founder’s Office & Embedded Flight Software Why it matters: https://lnkd.in/g-Xv3qv7? JD for the roles: https://lnkd.in/gYTabC6Y 

🚀 What an amazing demo day by Draper University! Congrats to the deep-tech companies doing incredible work and changing the world — love the energy there. Deepinvent: An AI innovation engine that analyzes scientific research and patent data to generate novel inventions and provisional patent drafts in minutes. ByBug: A bio-manufacturing firm using genetically-engineered black soldier flies to produce recombinant proteins more cheaply and sustainably. Ottonomy Inc.: Deploys fully autonomous indoor/outdoor delivery robots (“Ottobots”) using contextual AI to power last-mile logistics and enterprise intralogistics as a service. BioDelivera: Working on targeted drug-delivery systems, using engineered carriers to administer therapies directly into solid tumors. SpaceTime Honorebel S. Walker: Develops real-time ocean-security platforms, combining sensor networks and AI to monitor maritime domains and protect assets. Aule Space: Pioneering autonomous rendezvous, proximity operations & docking (“jetpack” tech) to extend satellite lifetimes and service spacecraft in orbit. Solio Group Bio: Works at the intersection of biomimetic skincare and biotech, using biologically-inspired materials for next-gen skin-care products. Applied Atomics: Develops agile space-mobility technologies, enabling fighter-jet-style “agility in space” platforms for defence and space missions. POLYMERA: Produces biodegradable materials, applying polymer science to create sustainable plastics with reduced environmental impact. LUCAI Bio: Leverages custom AI solutions for biology, designing and optimizing biological systems (cells, proteins) for biotech applications. MicroIN: Develops cell-encapsulation technologies — micro-encapsulation of cells for therapeutic delivery or biotech manufacturing. Mutanex Inc.: Uses an AI-driven precision-medicine platform to process genomic, imaging, and clinical data and generate personalised treatment plans up to 1000× faster. Rainier Labs: Builds robotic metal-working systems that automate heavy-industry fabrication with robotics and AI for precision and scale. GeroCare Solutions Ltd: Delivers home-based doctor services for the elderly, integrating telehealth, remote monitoring and in-home care to support aging populations. Asher Popper Power: Builds light-pole-to-power-plant infrastructure — deploying distributed renewables (solar micro-grids) integrated into urban infrastructure like light poles. BioSens8: Develops health-live data-streams, deploying sensors and analytics to provide continuous health-monitoring and real-time biomedical data insights. Sapios: Builds an AI co-pilot for defenders, focusing on cybersecurity and defense operations by augmenting human analysts with AI assistants. 👏 Here’s to bold founders, fearless innovation and shaping the future! #DeepTech #DemoDay #Innovation #Startups #DraperU #Entrepreneurship

Some cool technology being built here, go check them out - I'm sure you'll have fun!