Garuda Aerospace secures $22 million in Series A funding

Chennai-based drone start-up Garuda Aerospace announced that it has raised $22 million in Series A funding from a clutch of investors, including venture capital firm SphitiCap.

SphitiCap invested $12 million along with participation from other global investors, angel investors and HNIs at $5 million. Earlier the start-up had secured another $5 million in funding from an infra-development company, a group of HNI and angel investors from India, UAE and Singapore.

In a statement, Garuda Aerospace said that the funds will be utilised to scale up and expand the company’s operations.

A part of the funds will be used for research and development in drone solutions for the defence sector. The funds will also be used for the skilling and training of drone pilots in tier II and III cities.

Agnishwar Jayaprakash, founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace said, “We aim to sell 25,000 drones in the next 18 months and are looking forward to exporting 10,000 drones to about 100 countries in the next 15 months.”

Pallav Kumar Singh, Managing Partner, SphitiCap said, “Given the evolving preferences and horizontal expansion with the usage of drones in several sectors, there is a vision of promising growth beneficial for both companies.”