Exclusive: Qualcomm-Backed ideaForge Gears Up For IPO, Converts Into Public Company

ideaForge, one of India’s largest drone makers, has passed a resolution to turn into a public company ahead of it filing draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The Mumbai-based startup, which was incorporated as ‘ideaForge Technology Private Limited’, has now become ‘ideaForge Technology Limited’.

The startup will also adopt a new article of association as part of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, as per ideaForge’s MCA filings. 

The development comes months after Bloomberg reported that the startup was mulling to go for an initial public offering (IPO). As per the report, ideaForge was considering raising $125 Mn at a valuation of $700 Mn. The startup’s IPO will most likely consist of a fresh issue of shares. 

In April this year, ideaForge raised $20 Mn in a Series B round led by private equity firm Florintree. The funding round also saw participation from other existing investors such as Celesta, Infosys, Qualcomm, Infina, along with the Exim Bank of India.

The startup then said that it would use the capital to ramp up investment in research and development, expand globally and scale up hiring across key verticals.

ideaForge was founded in 2007 by IIT Bombay graduates — Ankit Mehta, Ashish Bhat, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi, and Amardeep Singh. The startup claims to have 15 years of R&D experience and more than 20 patents under its belt. 

It boasts of a host of marquee clients such as the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force, BSF, NSG, CRPF, Adani, Larsen & Toubro, Indian Oil, Indian Railways, among others . 

ideaForge’s drones are used by the Indian armed forces for surveillance, crowd monitoring and rescue operations. Its drones are also used commercially across sectors such as energy, utilities, telecom, and agriculture. ideaForge claims to have deployed more than 1,000 drones since its inception.

The startup has also been listed as a beneficiary under the Centre’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to promote drone manufacturing in the country. 

The Centre has been trying to increase the usage and manufacturing of drones in the country and has taken a series of steps, besides coming out with the PLI scheme, to achieve this objective. The liberalistion of Drone Rules 2021 not only gave a boost to the drone startups in the country but also resulted in more startups entering the space. 

Earlier this year, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that India has the potential to become a global drone hub by 2030. 

At a time when the ongoing funding winter, macroeconomic pressures, and market volatility have forced startups like PharmEasy, Droom and Snapdeal to defer their IPO plans, ideaForge, MamaEarth and Zaggle are among the few startups that have taken small steps towards listing on the bourses. While Zaggle recently filed its DRHP with SEBI, D2C skincare unicorn brand MamaEarth also converted itself into a public company.