Vayudh raises $10 million in funding round led by Dharana Capital

Homegrown defence technology company Vayudh on Tuesday said it has raised $10 million in a funding round led by Dharana Capital. The round also saw participation from Deepinder Goyal, founder and chief executive officer of Zomato (now Eternal); Ajay Aggarwal (Action TESA); Sumit Jalan; LetsVenture; and Navam Capital. The company had earlier raised funds from Florintree Advisors.

 

The funds will be used to deepen the company’s research and development (R&D) capabilities, expand manufacturing infrastructure, and accelerate deployments with India’s defence forces.

 

Vayudh, the defence vertical of BotLab Dynamics Private Limited, is a startup from IIT Delhi, building indigenous drone platforms for real-time battlefield intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.  ALSO READ: US plans to deploy long-range drones near Taiwan: Japan's defence minister

 

Founded in 2016 by Tanmay Bunkar, Anuj Barnwal and Sarita Ahlawat, Vayudh has developed expertise in swarm drone technology, with over 300,000 autonomous flying hours in defence and other commercial applications like drone shows and industrial surveying. The company recently launched Atri, India’s first nano drone for precision surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

 

In 2023, Vayudh was awarded the iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) grant to develop India’s smallest surveillance drone.

 

Commenting on the announcement, Tanmay Bunkar, chief executive officer of Vayudh, said, “This funding marks a pivotal step in our journey to develop indigenous, cutting-edge defence drone technology of global standards. We remain focused on deepening our R&D pipeline and scaling manufacturing to meet growing demand from India’s defence sector.”

 

Vamsi Duvvuri, founder and managing partner of Dharana Capital, said, “India’s rising defence spend and push for indigenisation have opened a rare window to build world-class defence tech locally. The Vayudh team brings exceptional technical depth in drone technology — their swarming tech is field-tested, mission-ready and built in India. We are excited to be part of their growth journey.”