Bengaluru-based Sanlayan Technologies, a rapidly emerging aerospace and defence startup, has secured ₹186 crore in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The funding was led by marquee investors Ashish Kacholia, Lashit Sanghvi, and Jungle Ventures, with additional backing from Gemba Capital, Singularity Ventures, and new investor Shastra VC.
This latest round marks a significant leap in Sanlayan’s journey to build advanced indigenous defence electronics solutions, reinforcing India’s mission of strategic self-reliance.
Key Highlights
- Funding Raised: ₹186 crore in Series A
- Lead Investors: Ashish Kacholia, Lashit Sanghvi, Jungle Ventures
- Other Participants: Gemba Capital, Singularity Ventures, Shastra VC
- Past Funding: ₹36 crore in March 2024 via First Cheque@Jungle (Jungle Ventures)
- Strategic Acquisition: Majority stake in Dexcel Electronics, known for contributing to:
- Jaguar
- Sukhoi
- LCA Tejas
- Chandrayaan-3
Strategic Vision and R&D Leadership
Sanlayan is currently developing AESA Radar systems for India’s Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) program, leveraging deep in-house R&D capabilities. The startup has also partnered with five Indian startups and global OEMs to co-develop next-gen defence technologies.
“Sanlayan’s ability to execute at both operational and strategic levels has been outstanding. Their discipline and Dexcel’s revenue ramp-up give us confidence in their scalable, long-term vision,” said Rishab Malik, Partner at Jungle Ventures.
Sanlayan’s Three-Pronged Capability Model
Sanlayan’s growth strategy is rooted in three core pillars:
- Acquiring and enhancing Indian defence MSMEs
- Developing proprietary, in-house technologies
- Forging global partnerships to co-develop future-ready systems
This hybrid approach allows the startup to operate at the intersection of indigenous innovation and international collaboration—key for strategic autonomy in defence tech.
Driving National Impact
“This isn’t just business—it’s a national imperative. Sanlayan is accelerating India’s indigenous defence capability, and we’re proud to back such a mission-driven team,” said Ashish Kacholia, Investor.
Sanlayan aims to:
- Grow its engineering team 5x over the next 6 months
- Hire experts: R&D scientists, retired armed forces veterans, domain specialists
- Develop critical technologies: Counter-UAS (CUAS), Electronic Warfare (EW) systems
- Scale Dexcel’s capabilities to lead large-scale indigenisation programs
Founder’s Perspective
“India’s defence sector is at a once-in-a-generation inflection point. We’re investing in both organic and inorganic capability expansion,” said Rohan Gala, Co-founder & CEO of Sanlayan.
He added that Sanlayan is allocating fresh capital toward suo motu development of strategic systems, reinforcing the company’s proactive commitment to national defence.