Biznextindia : Dare Ventures, the venture capital arm of Coromandel International Limited has announced its third investment this year into a differentiated drone startup, Dhaksha Unmanned Systems Private Limited. The company plans to use this funding for talent acquisition, R&D and production scale up.
Dhaksha, one of India’s leading players in the Indian drone industry, offers a full selection of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) technology solutions for a variety of uses, including delivery, surveillance, and agricultural. The Chennai-based business has become an expert in drone R&D, testing, production, and customer service over the years.
Dhaksha is the only business in India that can produce drones powered by petrol engines in addition to having established the ability to produce battery-operated drones. The “Agrigator” drone, which Dhaksha built with the agricultural sector in mind, aids farmers in applying fertilisers and crop protection goods. The 12L spray tank that comes with Agrigator allows it to cover up to 30-35 acres in a day when used for 8 hours. The company’s “SwarmGator” defence drone, powered by a petrol engine, took first place in the prestigious “Mehar Baba Swarm Drone Competition” for drone design, which was held by the Indian Air Force. Dhaksha triumphed in this competition against 154 companies while collaborating with the esteemed Anna University. Additionally, the business has created tailored drones with particular use-case solutions for mining, delivery of commodities, and monitoring.
Commenting on the investment, Mr. Ramanathan Narayanan, Director and CEO of Dhaksha said, “We are excited to partner with Dare Ventures. I am confident this will help us create several milestones in the drone industry, deliver world-class drones, offer exceptional support to customers across India and make the company a frontrunner in realizing the government’s vision of making India a ‘Global Hub’ for Drones.”
“Dhaksha focuses on bringing world-class affordable drone technology solutions in Agriculture and Defence sectors” Dr. Krishna Kumar, CTO and Alumnus of MIT-Anna University said.
Coromandel, India’s largest private phosphatic fertilizer company has been a pioneer in deploying new age agritech solutions for the benefit of Indian farmers. The company has earlier partnered with Dhaksha drones to undertake several pilot programs of drone-based nutrient and crop protection applications. The company intends to soon launch a first of its kind “Drone as a Service” model in India.