Space Technology Enthusiast and The Founder of Pixxel, Awais Ahmed

Awais Ahmed is the founder and CEO of Pixxel which is a space-tech startup that is working to build the world’s finest resolution hyperspectral imaging satellite-imaging constellation. Pixxel’s satellites collect photographs that provide up-to-date data for climate monitoring, crop yield forecast, urban planning, and disaster response.

Awais graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He had worked for Hyperloop India, Team Anant, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited before founding this company. He was a founding member of Hyperloop India’s engineering team, which created the country’s first operational hyperloop pod prototype. At Hyperloop India, Awais assisted the team in becoming one of the 24 finalists in the SpaceX competition out of 2500 global applications, as well as a finalist in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, where the team’s proposed route was picked for the pilot in India.

At his company Pixxel, he is developing microsatellites that will be launched into low-earth orbits. He aspires to work in deep space exploration one day. To begin, Anand is the name of the startup’s first satellite. Pixxel can see things in 50x more detail by taking photographs in 100s of hyperspectral bands, allowing businesses all around the world to have better business dialogues. Pixxel is developing a global health monitor based on the hyperspectral nature of satellite photos. In 2021, he was named one of Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 honorees.