Developer of autonomous satellite swarms, which capture faint emissions from maritime radar, satcom, satphones, and the spoofing of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data of maritime vessels; and transforms these RF signals into precise real-time intelligence. This is useful, for example, for armed forces to plan missions and detect threats, for commercial maritime operators to safeguard shipping routes, to track illegal fishing, and to locate emergency distress signals. Plans to deploy in the next 12-18 months. $2.3M seed round. Founded in Aug 2024. Founders: CEO Siddhesh is a systems engineer who worked on autonomous satellite swarms at Upgraha Space Technologies; CTO Adheesh is an avionics engineer who was last at Aversan Inc., a Canadian engineering firm that supplies the space industry.

AI-led autonomy software stack for drones and unmanned systems, which allows them to operate without GPS, any comms support or operator intervention. Working on pilots with the Indian Navy and Indian Army, on projects such as ship-to-ship drone delivery in difficult weather conditions. $1M pre-seed round led by the GM for Taiwan & SE Asia at ASML - a key supplier to the semiconductor industry. Now plans to raise ~$8M in a seed round. Incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in 2019. The startup is named after its founder Vinayak Tsalla, who was Chief Designer and a subject matter expert on unmanned aerial systems at Bharat Forge. His Master's thesis in Sweden's Linköping University was on "Design and Analysis of a VTOL Hybrid Unmanned Aerial System for Long Range Human Organ Transport".

Therapeutics company developing a new class of targeted medicines for genetic kidney diseases. Nanoparticle therapeutics deliver "cargo" directly to kidney cells. This is a disease modifying medicine that transforms life for 12 million patients worldwide who have no effective treatment options for ADPKD, an inherited disorder. $3.5M seed round, bringing total funding till date to $6M. Founded in 2021.

Materials science company that is pioneering silica aerogel insulation sheets. Funding towards R&D and production while seeking customers in oil and gas, EVs, defence and construction. ₹12CR seed round. Founders: Ankit (IIT Roorkee) spent 12 years at Pluss Advanced Technologies (thermal energy storage and advanced polymers); Apoorv (also IIT Roorkee, with a PhD in Ionomer Membranes from Clemson University) also worked at Pluss; Devakar (also Clemson University) was a business lead at Pluss. Founded in Aug 2024.

Drone startup founded in 2020 by a 15 year old who was inspired by Zipline, the on-demand drone delivery company. Uses a tail-sitter design (the drone launches upright) with a goal to deliver parcels at 1/20th the cost of typical deliveries. Deliveries cost ₹24 per delivery today, with an aim to get below ₹5 by end 2026. Pilot program with Bangalore's Narayana Health, through which it will undertake medical logistics for three months. Also looking at quick commerce and food delivery. $8.65M seed round led by Lachy Groom, following last year's round by Lightspeed. Founder Naman, now 20 years old, started Airbound as a side project during high school in Mumbai when he was 15. Founded in 2020, formally in Mar 2023.

SpaceTech company, designing and manufacturing advanced rocket engine systems. Developing ANYA, a liquid rocket engine platform. Currently at the design and testing phase. The startup plans to set up an integrated rocket facility that will bring together design, manufacturing, and testing under one roof. ₹7CR seed round.

DeepTech startup developing Large Behavioral Models (LBMs), i.e. a new class of AI for robots to understand complex behaviour, e.g. sequences of actions in the physical world. The US and UK are target markets - no information on launch, pilots, clients. ₹44.37CR ($5M) seed round. Founders Suraj and Aruna are both incubatees of Indian Statistical Insitute, Kolkota. They started Assessli in Aug 2022 out of college.

Defence tech startup focused on autonomous drones. Flagship product Titan is qualified by the Indian armed forces and is a heavy-duty drone built to transport and deliver essential supplies. The second product, Fury, detects hostile drones up to 30km away and launches high speed interceptors (speed: 300km/hour). $2M pre-seed round. Founders: CEO Yeshwanth (IIT Bombay, founder in residence at EF) was Co-Founder & COO of AEREO (aerial mapping, fka AUS-Aarav, backed by JSW, 360 One, 3one4, growX) and Co-Founder & CTO at F-drones (critical logistics for the maritime industry). COO Hemaditya was an engineer at AEREO before building Protoezy as CEO (hardware design prototyping). Founded in Apr 2025.

SpaceTech startup developing autonomous robotic spacecraft to clear space debris. Space debris poses challenges to space stations, future exploration as well as satellites. In addition to removing space debris, the company helps operators de-orbit satellites, insuring they comply with regulations on orbital safety. In-space demonstrations are expected in late 2026. $3.17M pre-seed round. Other investors in the round: Shakti VC, Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka (Skyroot Aerospace). Founder & CEO Chiran was at ISRO for 15 years, most recently as the Head of the Anthropometry, Biomechanics and Human Performance Division. Founded in Jun 2025. Based in T-Hub in Hyderabad.

Robotics startup developing perception hardware (i.e. multi-sensor, gyro stabilized cameras) and agentic AI for use on drones across air, ground and sea. Target customers in defence, policing and industrial inspection. No information on current traction. ₹3.5CR seed round. Founder Vignesh (robotics at Washington University in St. Louis) was Group Product Manager at Asteria Aerospace (drones). Founded in Jun 2024.