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Drone maker Garuda Aerospace raises $17-M more led by SphitiCap

Economic Times  

Chennai-headquartered drone startup Garuda Aerospace has raised a total of USD 22 million in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm SphitiCap at USD 250 million valuation. SphitiCap invested USD 12 million in the round. Other investors in the round included Canada-based Ocgrow Ventures and UK-based Silverstone Capital. In Nov-22, an infra development company, high net-worth individuals (HNI) and angel investors had invested USD 5 million in the company. Founded in 2015, Garuda manufactures and sells drones (55% of revenues) and also offers ‘drone-as-a-service' (45%). Besides India, it currently operates in Malaysia, Singapore, the US, Panama, and the UAE. Garuda aims to sell 25,000 drones in the next 18 months. The company aims to close the financial year ending March 2023 with INR 40 crore in revenues. Garuda Aerospace will use the new capital to expand operations, and build advanced drone solutions for the armed forces and the aerospace sector in collaboration with global companies. The funds will also be used for the skilling and training of drone pilots. The company manufactures 30 types of drones and offers 50 types of services and claims to have served over 750 clients including Tata, Godrej, Adani, Reliance, Swiggy, Flipkart, Delhivery, L&T, Survey of India, Lockheed Martin, and Cognizant. The firm currently operates over 400 drones with about 500 pilots in 84 cities.

From the Venture Intelligence PE-VC Deal Database: Between May-2022 and Nov-2023, Garuda had raised funding from Ocgrow Ventures and angel investors including Rajat Gupta, Manish Aggarwal and cricketer MS Dhoni. (Subscribers to the database can login to view the valuation, deal structuring and other transaction details.)