Blog

The drone sector has seen a funding boost following the recent changes in rules.

According to data from market researcher Venture Intelligence, the industry has seen funding of $87 million in the 12 months through June 2022. This is more than 3X higher than the $24 million seen in the previous 12 months.

Additionally, double the number of startups received funding, with 10 companies being funded in the last year, compared to just five the year before.

Speaking to Live Mint,  Varsha Tagare, Managing Director at Qualcomm Ventures, said the new policies and PLI scheme are behind this growth in investor interest. Qualcomm Ventures is the investing arm of US chip firm Qualcomm Inc.

“The recently-amended drone rules and the production-linked incentive [PLI] scheme for drones have encouraged the domestic manufacturing of drones, components, and software for the global market, and opened the doors for more players to get involved in the growth of the ecosystem,” she said.

Among the high-profile raises in the last year are ideaForge’s $20 million round in April, and The ePlane Company’s $5 million round in January. Additionally, last month, it was reported that Garuda Aerospace is close to sealing a $30 million round at a nearly $250 million valuation soon.