Zebu Raises $1 Mn to Boost Defence Drone Deployment

14 May 2025 CW Team

Founded in 2021 by Dr Santosh Balajee Banisetty, Zebu has developed four cutting-edge drones:

1. IAF Net Drone, a hostile drone neutraliser with a six-cartridge trap system

2. Coast Guard Surface Drone for search and rescue missions

3. Swarm-Enabled Combat Drone for coordinated aerial strikes

4. Tethered Surveillance Drone for uninterrupted border monitoring

The company is now advancing field tests and preparing for production, with sights set on securing a further $5 million to scale integration and explore global markets. Zebu recently set a Guinness World Record for drone endurance and is actively working with the Indian Coast Guard and Army on system trials and certifications.

Bluehill VC partner Sridhar Parthasarathi commented, “Zebu is ideally placed to tap the $11 billion global counter-drone market. Their field-proven technologies are essential to India’s security landscape.”

Zebu is also investing heavily in in-house component manufacturing—including high-performance battery packs, electronic speed controllers (ESCs), and stabilised gimbals—to reduce foreign reliance. Its indigenous Ground Control Station (GCS) is currently being evaluated by the Coast Guard and is positioned as a next-gen command interface to rival foreign systems.

The company has filed seven patents, secured two trademarks, and is scaling its IP-driven commercial offerings. Beyond defence, Zebu is adapting military-grade components for industrial applications in logistics, inspection, and unmanned systems.

With its vertically integrated approach and commitment to indigenous innovation, Zebu is poised to become a global leader in unmanned platforms and subsystems.

Image source: orfonline

Zebu, an emerging Indian defence-tech startup focused on advanced counter-drone and unmanned systems, has raised $1 million in a pre-Series A round led by Bluehill VC. The investment will expedite the deployment of four mission-critical drones designed for the Indian armed forces, furthering the nation’s defence modernisation and self-reliance goals.Founded in 2021 by Dr Santosh Balajee Banisetty, Zebu has developed four cutting-edge drones:1. IAF Net Drone, a hostile drone neutraliser with a six-cartridge trap system2. Coast Guard Surface Drone for search and rescue missions3. Swarm-Enabled Combat Drone for coordinated aerial strikes4. Tethered Surveillance Drone for uninterrupted border monitoringThe company is now advancing field tests and preparing for production, with sights set on securing a further $5 million to scale integration and explore global markets. Zebu recently set a Guinness World Record for drone endurance and is actively working with the Indian Coast Guard and Army on system trials and certifications.Bluehill VC partner Sridhar Parthasarathi commented, “Zebu is ideally placed to tap the $11 billion global counter-drone market. Their field-proven technologies are essential to India’s security landscape.”Zebu is also investing heavily in in-house component manufacturing—including high-performance battery packs, electronic speed controllers (ESCs), and stabilised gimbals—to reduce foreign reliance. Its indigenous Ground Control Station (GCS) is currently being evaluated by the Coast Guard and is positioned as a next-gen command interface to rival foreign systems.The company has filed seven patents, secured two trademarks, and is scaling its IP-driven commercial offerings. Beyond defence, Zebu is adapting military-grade components for industrial applications in logistics, inspection, and unmanned systems.With its vertically integrated approach and commitment to indigenous innovation, Zebu is poised to become a global leader in unmanned platforms and subsystems.Image source: orfonline

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Kavach 4.0 Commissioned on Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah

"Kavach version four has been commissioned on 1,452 route km, covering the high density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. The rollout included laying 8,570 km of optical fibre, installation of 1,100 telecom towers, deployment of trackside equipment over 6,776 RKm and establishment of 767 station data centres. Trackside implementation has been taken up on 24,427 RKm covering Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network sections. The programme aims to strengthen signalling and train protection on key routes.Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protecti..

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Railways Advance Kalyan–Murbad Line And Mumbai Capacity Expansion

"Indian Railways is advancing multiple rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, including the sanctioned Kalyan–Murbad new line and sizable investments under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The Kalyan–Murbad 28 km new line has been sanctioned at Rs 8.36 billion (bn) on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Government of Maharashtra and has been declared a Special Railway Project for land acquisition; proposals covering 214 hectares are at various stages of acquisition. Budgetary outlay for projects falling fully or partly in Maharash..

Infrastructure Urban

12 Mar 2026

Parliamentary Panel Flags Funding Gaps in Heavy Industries

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (Rajya Sabha) presented its 332nd report on the Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Figures converted from crore and lakh are expressed in million (mn). The Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the Ministry stand at Rs 79,399 mn against a projected requirement of Rs 94,843.2 mn, a shortfall of about 16 per cent, with revenue at Rs 79,370.8 mn and capital compressed to Rs 28.2 mn from Rs 5,020 mn.The committee flagged recurring BE-to-RE compression and declining revised estimate utilisation, and calle..