Bengaluru-based deeptech startup Tsalla Aerospace has raised $1 million in its first external funding round, led by Sunny Stalnaker, Executive Vice President at ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment company.
The round also saw participation from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and included equity-free grants from the Ministry of Defence’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) programme.
Tsalla Aerospace now plans to raise $8 million in its upcoming Seed round to expand its AI autonomy technology globally and enter new defence and industrial markets.
“With this milestone, we move from proving what’s possible to scaling what’s inevitable. Our vision is to create a unified autonomy ecosystem where satellites, aircraft, ground vehicles, ships and underwater platforms operate seamlessly, thinking, deciding and acting together without human intervention. This funding helps us accelerate towards that future,” said Vinayak Tsalla, Founder & CEO of Tsalla Aerospace.
Tsalla Aerospace was founded in 2019 and incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The company builds an AI-powered autonomy system for drones and unmanned vehicles.
Its AI Pilot technology allows these systems to fly and operate without GPS or constant communication, aiming for fully autonomous, zero-operator control.
Tsalla Aerospace is already working with the Indian Navy and Indian Army on several projects.
These projects include drones for confined-space reconnaissance, backpack-sized VTOL platforms for individual use, and logistics drones that can deliver supplies between ships even in rough weather conditions.
Tsalla Aerospace competes with other Indian defence and drone technology companies like ideaForge, NewSpace Research & Tech, Sagar Defence, and CRON Systems, as well as with international companies developing dual-use (civil and defence) autonomy technologies.
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