Drop startup Garuda Aerospace has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm SphitiCap. Angel investors, HNIs, and other global investors also participated in the round.
The company raised $12 million from SphitiCap in the round.
“Garuda Aerospace has built various types of drones… and their developments in the drone sector are one to watch out for,” said Pallav Kumar Singh, Managing Partner, SphitiCap.
“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 in nearly every sector in the future,” he said.
The company stated that the funds would be utilized to scale up and expand operations. Part of the funds will be used for R&D, skilling, and training of drone pilots, as well as to help create employment by expanding into Tier II and III cities.
As per the statement, Garuda drones will be upgraded with payload capacities, endurance, sensor quality, and data embedding with additional technology solutions. The startup aims to achieve significant dominance in rural areas, making it easier to manufacture drones to speed up deliveries, reduce costs, and increase accessibility.
In the next 18 months, Garuda Aerospace aims to sell 25,000 drones, and in the next 15 months, it seeks to export 10,000 drones to around 100 countries.
“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.
In India and across the world, Garuda drones are employed in various industries, including agricultural, mapping, infrastructure, mining, and project inspections.
In 26 different Indian cities, Garuda Aerospace has a team of over 500 pilots and a fleet of 400 drones. Garuda was founded in 2015 with five members and has now scaled to over 200+ teams. It aims to impact one billion lives to become India’s first drone unicorn startup.
