VCs chase drone, defence tech cos

Sector seeing entry of deep tech, IP heavy start-ups building hi-tech solutions

- UMA KANNAN @ Bengaluru

THE India-Pakistan conflict has now put the focus on the country's defence tech and drone start-ups. Venture Capitalists are showing growing interest to invest in these companies.

As per Tracxn data, total equity funding raised by drone start-ups in India is $414 million so far and there are 487 such start-ups in the country, which include ideaForge, Zen Technologies, Drone Acharya, Garuda Aerospace and Marut Drones, among others.

Out of these, 132 start-ups are funded, with 28 having secured Series A+ funding. Many of these drones are used for civilian applications and infrastructure inspection. Start-ups such as ideaForge are into dual-use categories -- civil and defence.