Hemant Chaurasia

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT HEMANT CHAURASIA

Seasoned product leader in deep tech startups, including the fastest startup in history to reach orbit with a new launch vehicle (Astra, USA) and current role as CTPO at Fleet Space Technologies, Australia’s fastest growing company (AFR Dec 2023). PhD in Aerospace Engineering from MIT, and 5 years’ experience advising top aerospace, defense, and tech companies at McKinsey & Company in New York and Silicon Valley—Dr. Hemant Chaurasia is the Chief Product Officer of Fleet Space Technologies — a space-enabled exploration technology company on a mission to dramatically accelerate the discovery of critical minerals needed to decarbonize our global economy. Our flagship product, ExoSphere, combines AI, space technology, proprietary seismic sensors, and cutting edge Ambient Noise Tomography to deliver the world’s first scalable 3D exploration dataset, with real-time insights to guide explorers more efficiently to new deposits. Since launching ExoSphere in March 2022, Fleet has served over 30 clients including Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold and Core Lithium, and completed over 350 ANT surveys to date, more than anyone in the world.Headquartered in Adelaide, Australia, Fleet has rapidly grown to over 100 employees including a growing team in the US and Canada and alumni of top global aerospace, mining, and technology companies. We have raised over AUD $235M in venture funding, backed by premier investors including Teachers’ Venture Growth, Blackbird, Grok, and In-Q-Tel.Hemant joined Fleet with 14 years’ experience in the US at the cutting edge of aerospace technology, across MIT, McKinsey, and Astra. At Astra, Hemant was Vice President of Product Management, leading product development of Astra’s orbital launch vehicle and future space products. Over 4 years from Series B to public, Hemant was instrumental in making Astra the fastest privately-funded company in history to reach orbit with a new kind of launch vehicle, raising over USD $450M on the back of that achievement. Prior to Astra, Hemant was an Engagement Manager in the Aerospace & Defense Practice at McKinsey & Company in New York and Silicon Valley, where he led a series of engagements over 5 years advising Fortune 50 C-suite executives in aerospace, defense, tech, and manufacturing sectors on growth strategy and product development.Hemant completed his Masters and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Bachelors degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Physics at Monash University, Australia.