Drone startup Garuda Aerospace all set to close $30 million Series A funding

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Chennai-based drone startup Garuda Aerospace is in the process of closing a $30 million series-A funding by the end of July, its CEO Agnishwar Jayaprakash told Moneycontrol.

Jayaprakash refused to divulge details regarding who the investors are. This comes a day after the drone startup announced that it has secured cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a shareholder and a brand ambassador for the company.

He said that Dhoni’s shareholder investment was part of a bridge round that also saw other angel investors. In this case, too, Jayaprakash declined from putting a number on Dhoni's investment.

“We want to create history by being one of the largest series A funding rounds. I feel that now that our goals are not just to dominate within the Indian market, it is time to capture the global market, which has been dominated by the Chinese for so long,” he said.

Agnishwar informed that around 10 countries have expressed interest in facilitating Garuda Aerospace’s drones and helping the company set up manufacturing facilities there. Jayaprakash also said that the company has secured $1.2 billion in exclusivity contracts, with their current valuation at $250 million.

Apart from that, he said that the startup has received orders for its drones from Malaysia, East African countries and South American countries. “We are also looking to venture into the North American region. One of our partners is working closely with Bill Gates Foundation for developing spray technology. For us it's a natural progression to move into North America and cater to that market,” he added.

He also informed that Garuda Aerospace has received a Rs 30 crore order from MapMyIndia for mapping and surveying purposes. Garuda Aerospace is also among the four drone startups that had been selected by online food delivery service Swiggy for a pilot project involving carrying out supply runs for its grocery service Instamart.