Agritech Startup SUIND Raises ₹20.5 Crore Seed Funding Led by Transition VC
The company said the new funding will also be used to expand its engineering and research teams, strengthen manufacturing capabilities.
Agritech and autonomous drone startup SUIND has raised ₹20.5 crore (approximately $2.4 million) in a seed funding round led by Transition VC, with participation from IIMA Ventures.
The company will use the fresh capital to accelerate the commercial deployment of its agriculture drone platform, strengthen its proprietary autonomy technology, expand manufacturing capacity, and advance the development of next-generation autonomous aerial systems.
Founded in 2020 by Kunal Shrivastava and Kevin Kleber, Bengaluru-based SUIND develops autonomous unmanned aerial systems (UAS) powered by proprietary computer vision-based navigation technology. Unlike conventional drones that rely primarily on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as GPS, SUIND’s platform enables drones to navigate in GPS-denied or low-GNSS environments, making them suitable for mission-critical operations where satellite signals may be unreliable, jammed, or unavailable.
The startup’s flagship product, Bumblebee, is a DGCA-certified autonomous agricultural spraying drone designed for precision farming. The platform enables farmers and agri-service providers to optimise pesticide and fertiliser spraying, reduce chemical wastage, improve operator safety, and enhance crop productivity through autonomous flight planning and intelligent navigation. According to the company, Bumblebee has already been commercially deployed across farms and plantations in India.
Beyond agriculture, SUIND is developing WASP, an autonomous drone platform designed for industrial inspection, infrastructure monitoring, surveillance, disaster response, and potential defence applications. Built on the company’s core autonomy stack, WASP is intended to perform complex aerial operations in environments where conventional navigation systems may not function effectively.
The company said the new funding will also be used to expand its engineering and research teams, strengthen manufacturing capabilities, and accelerate the commercial rollout of both drone platforms over the next 12 to 24 months.
The investment comes as India’s drone ecosystem continues to gain momentum, driven by supportive government initiatives such as the Drone Rules, 2021, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for drones and drone components, and the Namo Drone Didi Scheme, which aims to promote the adoption of agricultural drones through women-led self-help groups. Rising demand for autonomous aerial systems across agriculture, infrastructure, logistics, defence, and industrial inspection is also creating new opportunities for indigenous drone manufacturers.
The company joins a growing group of Indian drone startups including Garuda Aerospace, Marut Drones, IoTechWorld Avigation, Dhaksha Unmanned Systems, and BharatRohan that are developing indigenous unmanned aerial technologies for both commercial and strategic applications.