Indian drone avionics startup ZeroDrag has raised Rs 6.5 crore (about $680,000) in a seed funding spherical led by Transition VC, because the startup seems to broaden manufacturing and develop next-generation UAV electronics.

It would use the funding to strengthen analysis and growth, enhance testing and high quality infrastructure, stabilise provide chains, and scale manufacturing for Indian and worldwide markets.

Based in 2022 by Amit Nimje and Shantanu Bhede, ZeroDrag develops avionics and sub-components for drones, together with autopilots, motor controllers, GNSS modules, telemetry techniques and payload integration {hardware}.

The startup focuses on supplying indigenous electronics to drone producers working throughout defence, agriculture, logistics and industrial sectors. Its merchandise are designed to work throughout totally different drone platforms and functions.

“We’re not constructing drones. We’re constructing what each drone wants,” stated Shantanu Bhede, co-founder and CEO of ZeroDrag Applied sciences.

“If the Indian UAV trade goes to scale, it wants an avionics layer it may well really depend on, and that layer has to return from India,” he added.

“In an period the place provide chains are weapons, India wants SovereignTech,” stated Raiyaan Shingati, co-founder and managing accomplice at Transition VC.

“Avionics and flight management are the intelligence layer of each drone, and at the moment that layer is nearly completely Chinese language,” he added.

The startup stated it was additionally seeing rising demand from the USA and Europe as producers search options to Chinese language UAV elements.

ZeroDrag had beforehand raised Rs 1.2 crore in a pre-seed funding spherical in 2023 from Enrission India Capital and angel investors. It has additionally obtained help by government-backed initiatives together with Startup India, NIDHI and programmes supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Info Know-how.

Over the following two years, it plans to broaden its engineering group, improve product availability and broaden its portfolio into enterprise-grade UAV {hardware}, together with techniques for heavy-lift drones and future electrical vertical take-off and touchdown platforms.