Garuda Aerospace is India’s leading Drone-as-a-Service company whose primary goal is to offer low-cost drones which are efficient and cater to human and industrial needs. Founded in 2015 by Agnishwar Jayprakash, it calls itself India’s most dependable drone company, and rightfully so.
Drones, also known as Unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs], are vehicles that do not require human control. India has a well-emerging drone industry, with several startups and companies making their way into developing and coming up with newer ways to utilize drones.
Companies using the drone-as-a-service model are starting to gain visibility and India has great potential to further develop into a booming hub for drone services. In fact, the government of India expects India to be a global drone hub by the year 2030.
What does Garuda Aerospace have to offer?
Garuda Aerospace is a drone company which operates on the drone-as-a-service model, where they provide a multitude of services through their drones.
They’ve specifically designed drones for 38 different applications including disaster and warehouse management, agriculture, sanitization, mapping, highway/ traffic monitoring, delivery/ load carrying, project management and structural inspection.
Their products are designed for specific purposes and include Kisan drones, surveillance drones, mapping drones, solar panel cleaning drones, seed-dropping drones, and loudspeaker drones.
Not only that, they also offer products such as water-cleaning boats and submarines designed particularly for their water-cleaning boat project. Around 50% of the company’s revenue comes from drones and the other from their services.
Importance of Drones in Agriculture
Drones are cost-effective aids for improving farming practices, resource management, and crop yields, especially when combined with data analysis tools and proper training.
Particularly in the agricultural industry, drones monitor large fields efficiently and capture high-resolution images with ease which allows for a detailed view of crops. This allows farmers to identify damaged areas or areas that need to be worked on more, allowing for greater efficiency.
Growth of Garuda Aerospace
A company that started out with just 5 employees in 2015 is now home to more than 200 employees and 500 clients and pilots and has taken over in more than 84 cities all around India.
With captain cool M.S. Dhoni as its brand ambassador, and getting featured on the United Nations’ top ten socio-economic innovations of 2016, Garuda Aerospace has taken pride in driving itself on a global level.
It also became the very first Indian drone company to ever receive the NDRF [National Disaster Response Force] Award for Bravery for providing incredible support in the Uttarakhand Glacier disaster that happened in 2021.
The company recently raised Rs. 25 crores in a bridge round of funding led by Venture Catalysts, WeFounderCircle, and others.
Behind the Co-founders
Garuda is blessed to have an exceptionally brilliant founder who graduated from Harvard Business School. Agnishwar Jayprakash is the founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace. Other than this, he is an international swimmer and holds multiple swimming records.
Rithika Agnishar is the co-founder and CIO of the company and holds a BBA degree from Christ University, Bangalore. Her role in the company is to juggle communication, teamwork, and coordination within the firm.
She also makes sure to maintain a professional image when dealing with outsiders to represent their company effectively. She’s also played a huge role in forming major partnerships that have boosted Garuda’s brand and influence both at home and around the world.
Future Goals
Garuda Aerospace has set a goal of selling over 25,000 drones in the year 2024 and exporting over 10,000 drones to around 100 countries.
With potential, it also aims to make India the global drone capital Another factor that makes Garuda Aerospace so special is its focus on combating climate change and increasing overall efficiency through its drones.
With special afforestation plans and AI data collection for the same, it isn’t far away from making India a greener place to live. It is also on a mission to build drone ambulances which in case of emergencies, help deliver emergency supplies.
