The Mangwani Family Office (formerly Aquapharm Chemicals) and Ajay Gupta (Capital Foods) have joined Rahul Dewan, the founder of Srijan Technologies, in leading a $1.5 million bridge funding round for Zuppa, a deep-tech startup based in Chennai that specializes in autonomous drone systems.
The round gives the business both money and powerful entrepreneurial support.
Zuppa’s R&D and presence in defense and dual-use drone technologies will be strengthened with the new funding.
Zuppa was founded by aerospace engineers and develops entirely in-house drone intelligence platforms, such as AI-based targeting, secure cyber-physical stacks, vision guidance, and flight control systems. These systems can function in challenging and remote environments because they are made to function without the use of GPS or high-bandwidth internet.
In the defense drone market, the company says it has established a high entry barrier. It has already participated in post-Operation Sindoor deployments where Indian drone technology was found to be deficient.
Zuppa has already started deployments and has a patent-backed intellectual property stack. It is also working with government agencies and academic institutions to influence national drone standards and policy.
