IPO-bound drone maker ideaForge on Friday said it has invested in electric propulsion technology provider Nautical Wings Aerospace for an undisclosed amount.
Bengaluru-based Nautical Wings Aerospace, run by NW Engineering Pvt Ltd, was founded by Shiv Varun Singh Rajput and Vikas Kamath. It is a provider of electric propulsion technology and primarily operates across aerospace, maritime, defence and logistics techs, among others.
Founded in 2007 by Ankit Mehta, Rahul Singh, Ashish Bhat and Vipul Joshi, IdeaForge is a drone manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems for the defence sector, homeland security and enterprise customers.
“The ability to build composites is what made Nautical Wings Aerospace attractive to us,” said Joshi.
"ideaForge’s presence in the UAV industry across defence and civil use products, coupled with our skill in developing electric propulsion systems makes for a good partnership,” said Rajput.
In April last year, ideaForge had raised $20 million as part of its Series B funding round led by private equity firm Florintree Advisors. The round also saw participation from its existing investors such as Celesta Capital, Infosys, Qualcomm, and Infina, along with the Exim Bank of India.
The Mumbai-based company is expected to file its IPO document next month, with the issue size expected to be around Rs 1000-1200 crore.
India’s drone industry has seen a recorded jump in terms of fundraising in 2022, driven by favourable government policies, increasing use cases, and the first public listing of a company from the sector, with the IPO of Pune-based drone startup Droneacharya Aerial Innovations Limited.
According to data from startup intelligence platform Tracxn, homegrown drone startups raised $39.1 million of equity funding in 2022, a 2X growth in the amount of funding raised in 2021, which was $17.5 million.
In Novemberlast year, drone company Skye Air Mobility had raised $1.7 million in a seed round led by Chiratae Ventures.
