Drone makers home in on foreign markets with global pacts

The deal is among a growing number of global partnerships being formed by Indian drone startups to test international waters. Industry experts say such partnerships are mutually beneficial as global firms want to join hands with Indian drone makers to get a piece of this burgeoning market.

Garuda, for instance, is working with Harare Institute of Technology and Nyangani Virtual University to offer drones-as-a-service to the farming sector in Zimbabwe.

Another Indian drone service provider, Skye Air Mobility, is looking to expand into markets like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

“We are working out software-related partnerships in the region. These partnerships will help us take our India-made products and services to global destinations,” said Ankit Kumar, chief executive of Skye Air.

While Skye Air is a new entrant in India’s drone market, early drone solutions provider Skylark Drones said it has been supplying software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to global firms for a while now. However, Mughilan Thiru Ramasamy, who co-founded the firm in 2014, said there has been a surge in interest.

Although 80% of Skylark’s customer- base is in India, that could change soon, said Ramasamy, adding that the firm is aiming at an equal split between global and Indian customers in the next two years.

IdeaForge, a manufacturer and supplier of drones, said that as part of its North American expansion plans, the company is talking to several distributors and resellers to help take their products overseas. It is also looking for technology partners.

“This will further help in making Indian products more tuned to international customers and help them with quicker turnaround time (TAT) for after-sales support,” a company spokesperson said.

While industry experts acknowledge that the Indian drone industry is at a nascent stage, they said that it has already created a buzz globally. They attributed this interest to the government’s new drone policy that was unveiled last year, an emphasis on local manufacturing, and encouragement for drones-as-a-service in critical sectors like farming, healthcare, logistics, defence and e-commerce.

“What is interesting is that opportunities for partnerships that can lead to access to new markets are happening a lot more. One of the reasons can be that companies want an alternative to China to procure drones.

The opportunity in India is more on the industrial side which has its nuances such as what payload it can carry or how high can you go,” said Vishesh Rajaram, managing partner at early-stage venture capital firm Speciale Invest.