Shankar Sharma-Backed DroneAcharya’s IPO To Open On December 13

The initial public offering (IPO) of Pune-headquartered drone startup DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations (DroneAcharya AI), which is backed by marquee investors like Shankar Sharma, Mangina Srinivas Rao, VC Kartik, and Samit Bhartia, will open on December 13. 

The startup will offer 62.9 Lakh shares in the IPO, which will close on December 15, in the price range of INR 52-INR 54 per share. DroneAcharya AI will be listed on the BSE SME platform.

Of the 62.90 Lakh shares on offer, 8.98 Lakh are reserved for high networth individuals (HNIs) and 11.94 Lakh shares for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), while 20.92 Lakh shares will be offered to retail investors, the startup said in a statement.

Corporate Capital Ventures is the lead book-runner in the issue.

The development is particularly important given the Indian government is eyeing to make the country a “drone hub of the world” by 2030. To achieve the goal, the government has also taken several initiatives like launching the PLI scheme, introducing financial incentives to boost the use of drones in agriculture, among others. Last year, the government also released Drone Rules 2021, enabling a better global certification and accreditation framework for drones.

The startup plans to utilise the fresh funds to purchase and manufacture drones, sensors, and processing infrastructure. Besides, it also plans to open 12 new training centres by March 2023. 

“Given Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make India a global drone hub, we have invested in drone services and pilot training startup Dronacharya. Further, drones are being widely used in the country across industries for surveys, deliveries and surveillance, and this segment is expected to perform strongly in the coming years,” said ace stock market investor Sharma, one of DroneAcharya AI’s major pre-IPO investors. 

“We see a great value creation as the company has within a very short span been able to scale up its operations and has dynamic plans ahead,” Sharma added.

DroneAcharya AI’s key investors’ list also includes Harshal Mode, an angel investor in media and entertainment-focused startups, and Ashish Nanda, founder and MD of UAE-based business conglomerate  Innovations Group.

Incorporated by Indian drone industry veteran Prateek Srivastava in 2017, DroneAcharya AI is one of the first few private players to receive a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) certified Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) licence in 2022. 

Since March 2022, the startup claims to have trained over 180 drone pilots, rolled out several industry-relevant drone and GIS courses designed to upskill young Indians in building a career in the drone ecosystem.  

DroneAcharya AI said that it plans to start manufacturing customised and fully indigenous drones. 

The startup has also partnered with multiple corporates and institutions so far, including its collaboration with Flipkart to carry out drone delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for the ‘Medicines From The Sky’ initiative of the Telangana government in association with Apollo Hospital.

Besides, the startup is an authorised reseller of Blueye Robotics, a Norwegian company producing underwater drones.

In Q1 FY23, DroneAcharya AI clocked a total revenue of about INR 3.1 Cr with a net profit of INR 72.06 Lakh.