The round also received participation from Deepinder Goyal (Founder of Zomato), Ajay Aggarwal (MD, Action TESA), Sumit Jalan, LetsVenture, and Navam Capital. Vayudh was previously invested in by Florintree Advisors.

The money raised will go toward bolstering research, expanding manufacturing capabilities, and expediting the deployment of Indian defense forces.

Vayudh, which was founded in 2016 by Tanmay Bunkar, Anuj Barnwal, and Sarita Ahlawat, creates drone platforms for reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence on the battlefield.

The startup has over 300,000 hours of autonomous flight experience and has worked on swarm drone technology. It was awarded the iDEX Grant in 2023 to create the smallest surveillance drone in India. Atri, a nano surveillance drone, was just launched by Vayudh.

India is where Vayudh manufactures and tests its drones. It centers on UAVs for security and defense.

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.”