Bengaluru: Garuda Aerospace, a startup in drone technology, in its Series A round raised a $22 million fund. The round was led by Venture Capital firm SphitiCap with the participation of other global investors, angels, and HNIs.
In the latest round SphitiCap invested $12 million, whereas other investors and HNIs contributed $5 million. The company raised $5 million as a part of its current Series A round in November 2022. As of now, the startup has raised $24 million in funding.
Former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has also invested in it and is the brand ambassador of the company.
According to the company, the funds will be used to scale up R&D and operation. A part of the fund will also be used for the skilling and training of drone pilots and acquiring more resources for deepening its footprints in tier II and III cities.
Founded in 2015 by Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Garuda Aerospace is a drone-as-a-service (DaaS) startup that designs, manufactures and customizes drones for various use cases such as deliveries, disaster management and agricultural applications, among others. With over 200 team members, Garuda Aerospace claims to have a fleet of 400 drones and over 500 pilots across 26 cities in India.
It claims to have served over 750 clients including TATA, Godrej, Adani, Reliance, L&T, Amazon, Wipro, NHAI and Indian startups such as Swiggy, Flipkart, and Delhivery, among others for various projects. Garuda recently partnered with global giants such as Lockheed Martin, Cognizant, and Elbit Systems.
In the coming 18 months, the company is aiming to sell 25,000 drones and export 10,000 drones to around 100 countries in the coming 15 months.
Recently, Garuda sent its drones to provide support in the ongoing earthquake relief and rescue efforts in Turkey. It was also deployed for delivering medicines and vaccination during covid-19 outbreak in India.
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