Tsalla Aerospace has raised $1 million in its first external funding round, led by Sunny Stalnaker, Executive Vice President at ASML. The round also saw participation from SIDBI and equity-free grants through the Ministry of Defence’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) programme. The capital will be used to enhance its AI-driven autonomy platform and scale deployments for defence and industrial applications.
Deep-Tech Innovation and Core Technology
Founded in 2019 and incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Tsalla Aerospace specialises in AI-based autonomy for drones and unmanned systems. Its flagship product, an AI Pilot, enables UAVs to operate without GPS, communication networks, or human interventions. This technology is designed to ensure mission continuity in denied environments and extreme conditions.
Collaboration with Armed Forces
Tsalla closely collaborates with the Indian Navy and Indian Army on multiple projects. Its solutions include confined-space reconnaissance drones, backpack-portable VTOL systems for single-soldier operation, and logistics platforms capable of ship-to-ship delivery in harsh maritime weather. These technologies are designed to enhance situational awareness, mobility, and rapid response capabilities.
Competitive Landscape and Future Plans
The company operates in a competitive ecosystem alongside domestic defence-tech firms such as ideaForge, NewSpace Research & Tech, Sagar Defence, and CRON Systems, as well as global dual-use autonomy developers. Looking ahead, Tsalla plans to raise an additional $8 million in a seed round to further scale its autonomy stack, expand deployments across India and international markets, and enter new defence and industrial sectors.
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