Nagpur: ZeroDrag, an Indian drone avionics and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) sub-components company, has raised INR 6.5 crore in funding from Transition VC to accelerate the development of indigenous drone electronics and strengthen India’s rapidly evolving UAV ecosystem.
The funding will be used to expand the company’s R&D capabilities, scale manufacturing capacity, strengthen testing and quality infrastructure, improve supply chain stability, and accelerate the development of next-generation UAV avionics for Indian and global markets.
Founded by Amit Nimje and Shantanu Bhede, ZeroDrag is focused on building the core electronics layer that powers drones, including autopilots, motor controllers, GNSS modules, communication systems, telemetry systems, and payload integrations. The company is significantly reducing India’s dependence on imported drone electronics by developing reliable, scalable, and cost-efficient indigenous solutions for drone manufacturers, enterprise UAV platforms, system integrators, and defence-adjacent applications.
ZeroDrag is building itself as a core enabling layer for the global UAV ecosystem by supplying high-performance sub-components to drone OEMs across defence, agriculture, logistics, and industrial applications. Its OEM-agnostic and application-agnostic approach allows the company to support a wide range of drone platforms and use cases across markets.
The company is also seeing growing international demand, particularly from the US and Europe, as global manufacturers and governments increasingly look to diversify supply chains and source reliable non-Chinese UAV components.
The company is also backed by Japanese investors through Enrission India Capital, which had previously invested INR 1.2 crore in ZeroDrag. In addition, ZeroDrag has received support through multiple government-backed initiatives including Startup India, NIDHI, and MeitY-supported programs.
Speaking on the development, Shantanu Bhede, Co-founder & CEO, ZeroDrag Technologies, said, “We’re not building drones. We’re building what every drone needs. If the Indian UAV industry is going to scale, it needs an avionics layer it can actually rely on — and that layer has to come from India.”
Co-founder and COO, Amit R Nimje added, “India’s drone industry needed an avionics partner it didn’t have to import from. That company exists now — and this funding gets more of our products into their hands faster.”
“Drones play a pivotal role in modern defence, as highlighted by recent conflicts. The heavy reliance on Chinese drone components poses a risk to India’s technology sovereignty. Zerodrag is addressing this by developing full-stack avionics systems for drones, including flight controllers, Electronic speed controllers, and Communication and positioning systems. These sub-systems define the performance and intelligence of drones. Demand from defence and surveillance sectors for Indian-made sub-components creates a vast opportunity for Zerodrag, estimated at $3-6 billion by 2032”, said Shoeb Ali, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Transition VC.
Raiyaan Shingati, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Transition VC said, “In an era where supply chains are weapons, India needs SovereignTech. Avionics and flight control are the intelligence layer of every drone, and today that layer is almost entirely Chinese. Zerodrag is building the foundational technology stack that every Indian drone manufacturer needs, making it not just a product company but a critical piece of national infrastructure.
For India to have a genuinely sovereign drone industry, it needs a Zerodrag.”
Over the next 12–24 months, ZeroDrag plans to scale manufacturing capabilities, expand its engineering team, improve product availability, and broaden its product portfolio into enterprise-grade UAV hardware, including systems for heavy-lift drones and future eVTOL platforms.