Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had exhorted the Indian startup community to work on deep tech ideas instead of delivering groceries, and they seem to be heeding to his call.
Vayudh, an Indian deep-tech drone startup incubated at IIT Delhi, has secured $10 million (approximately INR 83.5 crore) in a funding round led by Dharana Capital, with participation from prominent investors including Deepinder Goyal, founder of Zomato, LetsVenture, Navam Capital, and others. The capital will fuel research and development, scale manufacturing, and accelerate deployment of defense-grade nano drones for India’s armed forces. Vayudh aims to help bolster national security through indigenous innovation.
Founded in 2016 by Tanmay Bunkar, Anuj Barnwal, and Dr. Sarita Ahlawat, Vayudh operates as the defense vertical of BotLab Dynamics Private Limited. With a decade of research, a team of 200 engineers, and over 300,000 autonomous flying hours, the startup specializes in next-generation nano drones and advanced drone swarming technologies tailored for modern defense and security applications. Aligned with the Make in India initiative, Vayudh’s 100% in-house R&D ensures that all systems are designed, manufactured, and deployed in India, emphasizing self-reliance in defense technology.
Pioneering Nano Drones and Swarm Technology
Vayudh has emerged as a leader in India’s defense-tech ecosystem, boasting expertise in full-stack drone technology, from design to deployment. The company has achieved impressive milestones, including orchestrating a 7,000-drone swarm and logging 300,000 autonomous flying hours across defense and commercial applications, such as drone shows and industrial surveys. A notable demonstration of its capabilities occurred during Army Day 2019 at the Manekshaw Centre, where Vayudh showcased a 10-drone swarm operation as part of ARTECH. The drones flew cohesively for 45 minutes, marking a game-changing leap in swarm technology and demonstrating enhanced tactical synergy for defense applications.
In 2023, Vayudh was honored with the prestigious iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) grant to develop India’s smallest surveillance drone. This culminated in the 2025 launch of Atri, India’s first nano-class surveillance drone. According to Vayudh, Atri is “designed for precision surveillance and reconnaissance operations. These compact yet powerful systems can be deployed swiftly to scan and secure potential infiltration and exfiltration routes for defense forces.” The highly advanced drone represents a major leap in India’s indigenous UAV capabilities, tailored for high-risk battlefield environments.
Leadership Driving Innovation
Vayudh’s leadership team combines technical expertise and entrepreneurial vision. Tanmay Bunkar, a pioneer of India’s first homegrown swarm drone technology, drives the company’s strategic direction. Dr. Sarita Ahlawat, a scientist with a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, brings scientific rigor to drone innovation. Anuj Barnwal focuses on advancing autonomous aerial systems and drone intelligence for defense applications.
Strategic Funding to Scale Impact
The $10 million funding round builds on Vayudh’s earlier backing from Florintree Advisors and underscores strong investor confidence in its technical depth and indigenous intellectual property. The fresh capital will enhance R&D efforts, expand manufacturing capabilities, and support the deployment of Atri and other advanced drone systems across India’s defense sector.
India’s defense modernization push, supported by government initiatives like the production-linked incentive scheme for drones and standardized GST rates for commercial drones, provides a fertile ecosystem for Vayudh’s growth. The startup is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing demand for indigenous UAV solutions tailored to evolving battlefield needs.
A Key Player in India’s Defense-Tech Landscape
Vayudh’s focus on nano drones and swarm technology, backed by its in-house R&D and full-stack capabilities, places it at crucial point of India’s defense-tech sector. With Atri and its extensive R&D pipeline, the company could become a major contributor to India’s defense innovation ecosystem. By leveraging its IIT Delhi roots, technical expertise, and strategic funding, Vayudh aims to redefine battlefield ISR and contribute significantly to India’s self-reliant defense capabilities.
And drone technologies could be the cornerstone of defense systems going forward. Naval Ravikant says that any country that can’t manufacture its own drones will soon effectively be a vassal state, Elon Musk has said that that drones will make fighter pilots irrelevant. Drones have proved to be game-changers in the battlefield, both in the Armenia Azerbaijan war and the recent Russia-Ukraine conflict. The US and China are spending time and effort building their own drone systems, and countries like Turkey are making progress too. Meanwhile in India, ideaForge has sold $20 million of drones to the Indian army, while BotLab Dynamics, Vayudh’s sister company, has built drones for aerial shows during India’s beating retreat ceremony. India might have been slightly late to the drones game, but with experienced entrepreneurs and access to funding, they could soon hold their own against the best in the world.