Sanlayan Bags INR 186 Cr To Boost Indigenous Defence Tech

SUMMARY

The funding round was led by Ashish Kacholia, cofounder of Hungama Digital, Lashit Sanghvi, cofounder of Alchemy Capital and Singapore-based Jungle Ventures

Sanlayan aims to increase its engineering headcount fivefold in the next six months and has been actively hiring defence experts, R&D scientists and retired army veterans

Founded in 2023, Sanlayan Technologies designs and manufactures advanced electronic systems, including radar, electronic warfare and mission critical avionics

Defence tech startup Sanlayan Technologies has raised INR 186 Cr (approximately $21.7 Mn) as part of its Series A funding round led by Ashish Kacholia, cofounder of Hungama Digital, Lashit Sanghvi, cofounder of Alchemy Capital and Singapore-based Jungle Ventures.

The round also saw participation from existing investors Gemba Capital and Singularity Ventures, with Shastra VC also joining the startup’s cap table.

Founded in 2023 by former Zetwerk executives Abhijit Kothawale, Rohan Gala, and Rahul Vamsidhar, Sanlayan Technologies is an electronics startup specialising in advanced electronics systems for the aerospace, defence and space sectors.

The startup designs and manufactures electronic systems for avionics, naval systems, radar systems and space applications.

It also provides space electronics for satellite communication, space exploration, and space situational awareness.

Sanlayan Technologies claims to have contributed to several key defence and space projects, including India’s Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1 missions.

The startup previously raised $4.4 Mn in its seed funding round last year, which supported its expansion into embedded systems and the vertical integration of electronics solutions across India’s aerospace, defence and space industries.

Sanlayan is also developing AESA Radar for India’s unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) program, with its in-house R&D capabilities.

With the fresh funding, Sanlayan aims to double down on this approach and contribute towards programmes of national strategic importance.

“We are allocating capital for suo-moto development of critical technologies for CUAS and EW systems. In the last six months, we have strengthened Dexcel’s design and manufacturing capabilities and are now gearing up to execute large-scale indigenisation and upgrade programs,” said Rohan Gala, cofounder & CEO of Sanlayan.

The startup aims to increase its engineering headcount fivefold in the next six months and has been actively hiring defence experts, R&D scientists, retired army veterans and senior leadership from both public and private defence companies.

In the defence tech sector, Sanlayan competes against the likes of Big Bang Boom Solutions, Sagar Defence Engineering, Logic Fruit Technologies, ideaForge, among others.

The fresh funding comes on the heels of the recent India-Pakistan conflict and ‘Operation Sindoor’, which shone a spotlight on India’s defence tech capabilities. From the AI-powered air defence system Akashteer and the Akash Weapon System to drones manufactured by startups of IG Drones, Solar Industries and ZMotion, the success of indigenous defence technology is expected to give a major boost to the sector.

As per government data, India’s defence exports jumped to INR 23,622 Cr in FY25 from INR 686 Cr in FY14.

Amid growing demand for India-made defence tech products, investor interest in startups operating in the sector is also picking up pace. For instance, Tonbo Imaging raised INR 175 Cr in its Series D pre-IPO funding round from Florintee Advisors and EXIM Bank at a valuation of INR 1,500 Cr in April.

Prior to that, in January, defence-focussed deep tech startup Constelli raised $3 Mn in its pre-Series A funding round led by Pravega Ventures.