Why drone cos are looking beyond defence sector for clients

Drone startups are tapping into healthcare and quick comm, even as the sector faces regulatory fog

- Sakshi Sadashiv

India's drone startups are rapidly tapping commercial opportunities beyond defence contracts by expanding into healthcare and quick commerce deliveries, even as the sector struggles to scale amid regulatory fog, industry executives said.

Companies like Idea-Forge, which started by catering to the Indian defence forces, are diversifying their client base within the defence sector itself, while others like Skylark Drones and Skye Air Mobility are consciously choosing to avoid government contracts altogether, instead betting on the private sector to scale faster.

Ankit Mehta, co-founder of ideaForge, said that traditionally the firm wasn't offering drone-as-a-service—where companies rent or hire drones (and operators) for specific tasks rather than buying and operating the drones themselves.