Garuda Aerospace Secures $17 Mn Funding From SphitiCap, Others

Drone startup Garuda Aerospace has secured $17 Mn in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm SphitiCap. In November last year, the startup raised another $5 Mn from India, UAE and Singapore-based HNI and angel investors. With the fresh funding round, the startup has raised $22 Mn in aggregate in its Series A round.

Global and angel investors along with high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) also participated in the latest round. 

Of the total $17 Mn investment, SphitiCap infused $12 Mn while global and angel investors along with HNIs concertedly put $5 Mn. 

The startup said the proceeds of the fund will be used to strengthen its existing offerings and expand operation. Further, the funds will be partly used for research and development activities to build drone solutions for armed forces. 

Garuda plans to further use the funds for skilling and training of drone pilots and help generate employment opportunities along with deepening its footprints in Tier-II and III cities of India. It also plans to make its drone equipped with enhanced payload capacities, quality sensors, data embedding and allied tech solutions. 

The development comes almost a month after Garuda’s founder Agnishwar Jayaprakash shared that the startup would close the financial year 2023 (FY23) with a revenue of INR 100 Cr and further, aims to earn revenue of INR 100 Cr in the financial year 2024.

Set up in 2015 by Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Garuda manufactures and sells drones and also provides drone-as-a-service (DaaS) solutions for various sectors including agriculture, defense, mining, mapping, and warehouse management. It claims to manufacture 30 types of drones and offers 50 types of DaaS solutions. It targets its drones to bring fast delivery, reduce cost and improve accessibility.“Garuda aims to sell 25,000 drones in the next 18 months and is looking to 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 a drone hub by 2030,” Jayaprakash said.

Garuda employs 200 employees and boasts of operating more than 400 drones, as well as 500 drone pilots, in the country. Its clientele includes TATA, Godrej, Adani, Reliance, Swiggy, Flipkart, Delhivery, L&T, Survey of India, SAIL, NTPC, IOCL, Smart cities, Intel, Amazon, Wipro, IISC, MIT Boston and NHAI, among others.

In December last year, it received type certification and RPTO approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for its agri-based Kisan drones.

Earlier, its founder shared plans of raising $100 Mn-$150 Mn in Series B funding in 2023 at a post-money valuation of $500 Mn-$600 Mn. He further informed that the startup is well- established in Dubai, Malaysia, South America, North America, and Europe.

In India, it competes with the likes of  Throttle Aerospace Systems, Skye Air and Dhaksha Unmanned Systems.

As per a BIS Research report, the global drone market was pegged at $28.47 Bn in FY22. Of this, India will capture a 4.25% share of the international drone market. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Ministry anticipates that the country’s drone sector will attain a cumulative turnover of INR 12,000-15,000 Cr by 2026. 

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