Garuda Aerospace is planning IPO in 6-8 months, says CEO Agnishwar Jayaprakash

Garuda Aerospace plans to go for an initial public offering (IPO) in the next 6-8 months, said the drone startup's founder and CEO Agnishwar Jayaprakash, at YourStory's startup-tech event TechSparks 2023 in Delhi on Wednesday.

"Hopefully, it will be the largest drone IPO that India has ever seen," Jayaprakash said, in an interaction with YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma.

"We have three drone companies that have gone (for) IPO this year that have been tremendously successful benchmarking valuations. Similarly, you have the Adani group, Reliance, and Tata investing in this space. And, on top of that, you have a lot of VC funding that is coming in this sector. So it is good time to be in the drone space," Jayaprakash said.

Garuda Aerospace, which is backed by former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, last raised Rs 25 crore in October, in a bridge round of funding led by early-stage investor Venture Catalysts and WeFounderCircle. It raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm SphitiCap in February this year. It has so far raised a total of $27.3 million in funding, according to data insights firm Tracxn.

The company expects a turnover of Rs 120 crore - 150 crore in the current fiscal year, up from Rs 47 crore in the last year, he said, adding that Garuda has amassed over 300 clients for its services, including notable names such as Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Godrej, Reliance and Cipla.

The Garuda chief said many big corporates have started using drones to increase efficiency and reduce expenses after the pandemic. He also highlighted the rising demand for drones in the defence sector, especially after the Israel-Palestine and Ukraine-Russia conflicts, where drones are being used predominantly compared to fighter aircraft.

The agriculture sector, too, has seen growing interest with help from government subsidies.

"Governments have started to push this initiative across and they have realised (that) drones can be a part of variety of different government sectors," Jayaprakash said.

With a fleet of 400 drones and a presence across 84 cities, Garuda Aerospace provides drone-based solutions for a diverse range of applications, including sanitisation, agricultural spraying and surveillance.