These 15 Drone Startups Are Flying High In India

It’s been over a decade since drones entered mainstream conversation and limelight in the global arena through action cameras, aerial photography and of course for defence and military use-cases. However, these drones or unmanned aerial vehicles are still considered as an emerging technology within the deeptech industry in the Indian context.

That’s because regulations have not exactly been clear on the operations of drone till 2018 when India’s drone policy was first released. Since then the ‘Digital Sky‘ initiative has not exactly progressed as expected.

Even as lack of on-ground efforts and clarity on many aspects of drone businesses continue to hamper the industry, drone startups have still managed to continue innovation. The lack of governmental support is a crucial growth hurdle for drone startups as this has limited funding for the sector.

This is more evident in the “Drone Technology: India Opportunity Report 2019”, by DataLabs by Inc42. According to the report, the total funding raised by drone startups in India from 2014 to 2018 was just $16.56 Mn which accounts for a mere 2.26% of the total deeptech funding ($732 Mn) in this period.

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15 Drone Startups That Are Attracting Attention In India

Currently, just about 40 drone startups are active in India. Over 90% of them are startups that do not have the luxury of burning cash on trials and experimental runs in this regulatory uncertainty. Among these, many are flying high in India’s digital sky.

• Aarav Unmanned Systems

Founded: 2013
HQ: Bengaluru
Founders: Nikhil Upadhye, Suhas Banshiwala and Vipul Singh

Founded in 2013, Bengaluru-based Aarav Unmanned System is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer which specialises in 3D mapping, image processing, and precision agriculture.

• Cron Systems

Founded: 2016
HQ: New Delhi
Founders: Tushar Chhabra, Saurav Agarwala, and Tommy Katzenellenbogen

New Delhi-based Cron Systems, which was founded in 2016, is a border defence startup. Cron leverages IoT technology in building intrusion detection systems.

• Detect Technologies

Founded: 2014
HQ: Chennai
Founders: Tarun Mishra, Daniel Raj David, Harikrishnan AS, Karthik R, and Krishnan Balasubramanian

Chennai-based Detect Technologies has developed a completely automated remote control system. Founded in 2014, the company has raised $3.30 Mn Series A from SAIF Partners, Bharat Fund and others.

• Drones Tech Lab

Founded:2014
HQ: Kolkata
Founders: Biswajit Dey and Ritesh Kanu

Founded in 2016, Drones Tech Lab is a manufacturer and distributor of surveillance drones and drone camera. The startup is based out of Kolkata.

• IdeaForge

Founded: 2007
HQ: Mumbai
Founders: Ankit Mehta, Ashish Bhat, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi and Amardeep Singh

Mumbai-based IdeaForge designs and develops drones for surveillance and security. Founded in 2007, ideaForge is one of the oldest startups using drone technology.

• Indrones Solutions

Founded: 2015
HQ: Mumbai
Founders: Pravin Prajapati and Ravi Singh

Another Mumbai-based drone startup, Indrones Solutions, provides on-demand drone services for aerial photography and videography.

• Indshine

Founded: 2016
HQ: Gurugram
Founders: Himanshu Nagrath, Manish Sahu, Prince Diwakar and Saksham Bhutani

Gurugram-based Indshine is one of the few SaaS startups in India. Founded in 2016, the startup that provides an online platform to visualise 3D and 2D drone maps.

• Pigeon Innovative Solutions

Founded: 2016
HQ: Mumbai
Founders: Dewang Gala

Founded in 2016, Pigeon Innovative leverages drone technology for photography purposes. Mumbai-based Pigeon specialises in the areas of UAV Drone surveying, 3D models, drone inspection, among others.

• Quidich Innovation Labs

Founded: 2015
HQ: Mumbai
Founders: Gaurav Mehta, Rahat Kulshreshtha

Mumbai-based Ouidich Innovation uses drones for developing an and to end products and customised drone solutions for its clients. The startup was founded in 2015.

• Redwing Aerospace Laboratories

Founded: 2018
HQ: Bengaluru
Founders: Anshul Sharma, Rishab Gupta and Arunabha Bhattacharya

Founded in 2018, Redwing Aerospace Labs leverages this deeptech technology in the field of data analytics and aerial robotics. The startup is based out of Bengaluru.

• Skylark Drones

Founded:2014
HQ: Bengaluru
Founders: Mrinal Pai and Mughilan Thiru Ramasamy

Bengaluru-based Skylark Drones is a tech enterprise drone solutions provider. Founded in 2014, the startup, using drones, provides solutions to Improve productivity, reach and safety In mining, infrastructure and utilities.

• TechEagle Innovations

Founded: 2015
HQ: Lucknow
Founders: Vikram Singh Meena

Lucknow-based TechEagle Innovations focusses on developing drones for last-mile delivery. The startup was founded in 2017 and was acquired by Zomato in December last year.

• Thanos Technologies

Founded: 2016
HQ: Hyderabad
Founders: Pradeep Palelli

Founded in 2016, Thanos Technologies is based out of Hyderabad. The startup offers drones as a service for aerial surveys and mapping.

• The ePlane Company

Founded: 2016
HQ: Chennai
Founders: Pranjal Mehta and Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy

Chennai-based ePlane Company leverages its deeptech platform to provide industrial drone solutions.

• Vizzbee Robotic Solutions

Founded: 2018
HQ: Bhopal
Founders: Vibhu Tripathi and Ayush Jindal

Bhopal-based Vizzbee Robotic provides autonomous drone solutions for last-mile delivery as well as for search and rescue missions. The startup was founded in 2018.