MS Dhoni backed drone startup Garuda Aerospace raises $22 million funding

MS Dhoni backed drone startup Garuda Aerospace has raised $22 million in Series A funding. Funding round was led by Venture Capital firm SphitiCap which invested $12 million. Other global investors, angel investors and high net worth individuals invest $5 million in the Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) player. The remaining $million was invested by an infra-development company, a group of HNIs and angel investors from India, UAE and Singapore.

As per a report by IANS, the company aims to use the funds to scale up the research and development for building advanced drone solutions for the armed forces in collaboration with global companies for the defence and aerospace sector.

Apart from this, a section of funding will also be used for training of drone pilots and help create employment with deepening its footprints in Tier II and III cities.

Last year, the former Indian cricket team captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, also invested in Garuda Aerospace and also became the brand ambassador of the drone startup.

Speaking on the funding Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO said: "Garuda Aerospace aims to sell 25,000 drones in the next 18 months and is looking forward to exporting 10,000 drones to about 100 countries in the next 15 months."

Pallav Kumar Singh, Managing Partner, SphitiCap said: "Given the evolving preferences and horizontal expansion with the usage of drones in several sectors, there is a vision of promising growth beneficial for both companies. With this, drones will be playing a major in nearly every sector in the future."