The Times of India

He grew up without internet or a smartphone: The Karnataka village boy who built Pixxel and won a NASA contract

Growing up in Karnataka's Aldur village without internet or smartphones, Awais Ahmed nurtured his passion for space through encyclopaedias. Along with BITS Pilani batchmate Kshitij Khandelwal, he founded Pixxel in 2019 to address the lack of high-resolution hyperspectral satellite imagery. Today, Pixxel's satellites monitor crop health, methane leaks and pollution from orbit. Backed by global investors and recognised by TIME, NASA and the World Economic Forum, the startup has become a leading private space company.