Garuda Aerospace Raises $22 Mn In Series A Round The round—the largest-ever in the drone sector, according to the Chennai-based startup—was led by VC firm SphitiCap, which invested $12 million, and saw participation from other investors across India, UAE and Singapore
By Soumya Duggal •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Drone manufacturer Garuda Aerospace has raised $22 million in series A funding—the largest-ever in the drone sector, according to the Chennai-based startup.
The round was led by VC firm SphitiCap, which invested $12 million, and saw participation from other investors across India, UAE and Singapore. The acquired funds will be utilized to scale up and expand Garuda Aerospace's operation, said a statement. A part of the funds will be used for R&D, thus accelerating the development of building advanced drone solutions for the armed forces in collaboration with global companies for the defence and aerospace sectors, and the rest will be used for the skilling and training of drone pilots to help create employment while deepening the startup's footprints in Tier II and III cities, added the statement.
Garuda further plans to enhance its drones with payload capacities, endurance, quality sensors and data embedding with more technology solutions. Currently operational across India, the comapny is looking to achieve dominance in rural areas and bring fast delivery, reduced costs and improved accessibility through drone technology.
"Garuda Aerospace aims to sell 25,000 drones in the next 18 months and is looking forward to exporting 10,000 drones to about 100 countries in the next 15 months. After my experience at Davos 2023, it was clear that Garuda Aerospace has the potential to scale globally by manufacturing more 'Make in India' drones and will help India to become the drone hub of the world by 2030," said Agnishwar Jayaprakash, founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace.
"Garuda Aerospace's developments in the drone sector are one to watch out for. Given the evolving preferences and horizontal expansion with the usage of drones in several sectors, there is a vision of promising growth beneficial for both companies. With this, drones will be playing a major role in nearly every sector in the future," added Pallav Kumar Singh, managing partner, SphitiCap.
Aiming to become the country's first drone unicorn startup, Garuda Aerospace claims to currently have a fleet of 400 drones and a well-trained team of over 500 pilots across 26 different cities across India. Former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an investor and Garuda's brand ambassador.
