NewSpace Research & Technologies, a Bengaluru-based drone technology firm, has secured $21 million in a round headed by Pavestone Technology Fund. The money was raised at an unknown amount. Within the next five years, the company hopes to become a unicorn.
NewSpace Research & Technologies specialises in swarm drone systems and is working on an ambitious project with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to develop a cutting-edge pseudo satellite for surveillance and communications. The company has won at least two contracts from the defence ministry in the last year.
While huge corporations have expanded into the defence manufacturing market in recent years, and some startups have launched, venture capital firms have yet to pour money into the sector in substantial numbers, with investors treading carefully due to the sector’s long gestation time.
Pavestone Technology Fund’s Managing Partner, Sridhar Rampalli, stated, “Our belief is that the opportunity is large and the company is working on two, three products for the future. If done well, it could quickly be a unicorn in the next five or six years.”
The funds received are expected to be sufficient for the next 18 months as the firm begins to deliver its goods to the military, with more rounds anticipated after that. Aside from the defence sector, the firm will concentrate on civil logistic operations for drones, and it is already providing items because the field is new.
The startup inked a design and development contract with the military ministry on February 10 to create a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS), which would be able to perform surveillance missions and assist communications for months at a time. The programme would be led by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which will be mentored under the ministry’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) programme.
The Army had made a INR 200 crore deal with the business in September of last year for a swarm drone system capable of surveillance and assault tasks. The system must be provided by the manufacturer within a year after being processed through the emergency procurement method.
Bengaluru-based Drone Startup NewSpace Secures $21 Million
