On-demand drone delivery startup TechEagle has raised an undisclosed bridge funding round (ahead of Series A round) co-led by Navam Capital and Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), with participation from Venture Catalysts, Paytm Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma (investing through his wholly-owned firm VSS Investco), and a group of high-net-worth individuals, the company announced on Thursday.
Focused on last-mile logistics across urban and semi-urban areas, the startup also includes Tushar Jani, Co-founder of BlueDart Express Limited and Ajoy Khanderia, founder of Gramin Healthcare among its investors.
“Driven by the liberalization of drone regulations and performance-linked incentives provided by the government, the drone logistics industry in India is experiencing rapid growth,” the startup said in a statement.
Founded in 2017 by IIT Kanpur alumni Vikram Singh and Anshu Abhishek, TechEagle is an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) technology developer and operator in India of BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) drone operations for autonomous deliveries.
“With the support of our investors, we aim to expand our operations across the country, enabling faster and more economical deliveries. This funding will fuel our efforts to launch higher payload drones for mid-mile and inter-city deliveries, further solidifying our position as a frontrunner in the drone logistics industry,” said Vikram Singh Meena, Founder & CEO, TechEagle.
The company claims its Vertiplane X3 drone to be Asia’s fastest and longest-range drone with a 100km range in a single flight, 5KG payload capacity, and 120km/h speed. TechEagle names AIIMS institutes, state governments, and the World Bank among its clients.
“With their drones’ ability to carry substantial payloads over long distances at high speeds, they are raising the bar for everyone in the industry,” said Vinay Bansal, Founder & CEO, Inflection Point Ventures.
Importantly, the Civil Aviation Ministry in May 2021 had granted conditional exemption from Unmanned Aircraft System {UAS) Rules, 2021 to 20 entities to conduct BVLOS experimental flights of drones. The trials were to help the government set up a framework for future drone deliveries and other major applications using drones.