Drone Startup Skye Air Mobility Bags 10 Govt Contracts For Medical Supply Delivery

Skye Air Mobility on Friday (March 1) said it has bagged contracts from 10 government medical institutions to deploy its drone mobility solutions. 

Under the contracts, the startup will enable the institutes, including six AIIMS and three regional leprosy regional centres, to employ the aerial vehicles for efficient delivery of essential medical supplies in temperature-controlled boxes.

These institutes span states such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Manipur, Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan. 

The startup said that deployment will be completed in the coming weeks. 

“We are elated to collaborate with these esteemed healthcare institutions and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare…. These contracts present a substantial opportunity to synergize with leading healthcare institutions, aligning our efforts with the visionary goals of the Ministry,” said Skye Air Mobility founder and CEO Ankit Kumar.

Founded In 2019 by Kumar, Swapnik Jakkampudi and Chandra Prakash, Skye Air is a drone delivery startup that is largely focused on areas such as healthcare, ecommerce, quick commerce and agriculture.

Backed by names such as LetsVenture, Chiratae Ventures, and Agility Ventures, the startup last raised $1.7 Mn as part of a seed round in November 2022.

Skye Air has partnered with multiple Indian startups, including Dunzo, Flipkart Health+, and Curefoods to conduct trials for its drones. 

Its CEO Kumar also said that the startup plans to ramp up its fleet size to 100 drones over the next six months from the current 35.

Buoyed by the Centre’s INR 120 Cr production-linked-incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and streamlined drone certification norms, a number of drone startups have spawned in the country and are seeing increasing interest from investors. 

Earlier today, it was reported that NewSpace Research & Technologies, a defence-focussed drone manufacturer, has raised $52 Mn (INR 430.9 Cr) in a bridge round.

Besides, two drone startups – DroneAcharya and ideaForge – have also gone on to list on the exchanges.

The Indian drone market is estimated to reach a size of $13 Bn by 2030, as per Inc42. 

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