ZeroDrag raises $780K in seed round led by Transition VC

The company will use the funding to improve research and development, expand production capacity, strengthen testing and quality systems, make its supply chain more reliable, and speed up the development of advanced drone technologies for Indian and international markets.

Earlier, in September 2023, the startup had raised ₹1.2 crore in a pre-seed funding round from Enrission India Capital and other angel investors.

Shantanu Bhede, Co-founder & CEO, ZeroDrag Technologies, said, "We're not building drones. We're building what every drone needs. If the Indian UAV industry is going to scale, it needs an avionics layer it can actually rely on — and that layer has to come from India."

Co-founder and COO, Amit R Nimje added, “India’s drone industry needed an avionics partner it didn't have to import from. That company exists now — and this funding gets more of our products into their hands faster.”

Raiyaan Shingati, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Transition VC said, “In an era where supply chains are weapons, India needs SovereignTech. Avionics and flight control are the intelligence layer of every drone, and today that layer is almost entirely Chinese. Zerodrag is building the foundational technology stack that every Indian drone manufacturer needs, making it not just a product company but a critical piece of national infrastructure.

Founded in 2022 by Amit Nimje and Shantanu Bhede, ZeroDrag, based in Nagpur, is a company that makes drone electronics and UAV systems. It builds important parts that help drones work, such as communication systems, control hardware, and autonomous flight technology.

The startup creates products like autopilots, motor controllers, GNSS modules (for navigation), telemetry systems, communication networks, and payload integration systems. These components are used by drone makers, enterprise UAV platforms, FPV users, and industrial companies. Its main goal is to provide the core electronic systems that help other companies build and scale reliable drones in India and global markets.

ZeroDrag supplies these high-performance parts to drone manufacturers working in sectors like defence, agriculture, logistics, and industrial operations. The company works in an “OEM-agnostic” way, meaning its products can be used in many different types of drones and applications.

In the next 12 to 24 months, ZeroDrag plans to expand its manufacturing, grow its engineering team, improve product availability, and add new advanced products. These may include hardware for heavy-lift drones and future flying vehicles like eVTOLs.

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