Startup funding in India tends to chase growth at any cost, which is why Garuda Aerospace stands out: the Chennai drone maker grew fast in FY26 and stayed profitable. Operating revenue surged 66.8% year-on-year to ₹206 crore in the year ended March 2026, from ₹123.5 crore in FY25, while net profit rose 41.1% to ₹25.9 crore.
Services now outweigh hardware
The revenue mix tells the deeper story. Sales of drones and drone parts brought in ₹99.4 crore, while services generated ₹106.5 crore — the Drone-as-a-Service model now contributes more than hardware sales. Earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation rose 31.8% to ₹35.1 crore. Total expenses grew faster, up 73.2% to ₹172.2 crore, with raw material consumption the largest cost at ₹116.8 crore.
A founder story of survival
Founded in 2015 by Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Garuda Aerospace designs and manufactures drones for agriculture, defence, infrastructure, mining and disaster management, alongside a DGCA-approved remote pilot training programme. The early years were hard — by 2020 the founder was reportedly considering shutting down — before Covid-era disinfectant spraying and surveillance work put the company in front of state governments. Cricketer MS Dhoni later joined as an investor and brand ambassador.
What comes next
The company is IPO-bound, having confidentially filed draft papers with SEBI earlier in 2026, and its board has also greenlit a ₹57.2 crore fundraise via private placement of equity shares, according to Inc42. In a message to shareholders, Jayaprakash said the company strengthened manufacturing, expanded Drone-as-a-Service, and advanced AI, autonomous flight and defence capabilities during the year.
Why it matters for founders
Growth plus profit is a rarer, stronger story than growth alone — especially ahead of a listing. Garuda's lesson: a services layer on top of hardware smooths revenue, and surviving the near-death years is what makes the eventual scale-up possible.