What if your satellite could think before it blinked?
Born and raised in Hyderabad, Preetham migrated to Melbourne to study Aerospace Engineering at RMIT. In his final year, the lecture hall became a launch-pad: he realised traditional satellites were nothing more than delayed-action cameras, sending raw data back to Earth in hours to days, too late for disasters, defence or other time-sensitive applications. He decided to change that—by starting a space company in his final year of university.
Together with close friends from university and previous projects, He is building AI-powered, software-defined Smart Satellites—earth orbiting intelligent machines that learn, analyse and act completely autonomously. Instead of waiting for ground control, these satellites process imagery on board and transmit only the critical intelligence straight to the people who need it within minutes.
That speed is a game-changer. Firefighters receive live thermal maps while flames are still containable; flood-response teams watch inundation paths unfold in near-real-time; commanders gain trusted situational awareness without risking crews or waiting for downlinks. By removing human bottlenecks, Preetham’s company Akula Tech turns satellites into a first-responder network.
The vision does not end at the edge of space. Akula Tech is expanding this trusted autonomous intelligence across land, air, sea and space, so a small team can direct fleets of drones, vessels and satellites safely from well behind the frontline—multiplying capability and productivity many times over.
Traction to date: Akula Tech has closed a $1 million pre-seed round, contracted three satellites now under build, and secured an upcoming launch slot with SpaceX on 26 August 2025. With hardware in the clean-room and software already learning in simulation, Akula Tech is preparing its next fundraising round to scale the mission and accelerate towards Preetham’s vision.
In 2024, Preetham was honoured as Entrepreneur of the Year at the prestigious Victorian International Education Awards, backed by the Victorian Government — a recognition of his bold vision and impact as an international student founder in Australia. Just a year later, his company Akula Tech was awarded Business of the Year at the 2025 Australian Space Industry Awards, cementing its position as a rising force in the nation’s growing space-tech ecosystem.
Follow Akula Tech’s journey as they turn science fiction into daily reality—because in a world of wildfires, floods and fast-moving threats, minutes matter. Let’s make space smarter, together.
