In India, the next growth sector is aviation that is seeing a lot of momentum. With India being one of the fastest growing markets, drone/UAV and aviation companies are capitalising on the growth momentum. In fact, Bangalore has the highest share, 65% and has become the manufacturing hub of India. In this article, we list down top 6 startups in this space that are bolstering India’s aviation industry.
1. Aero 36
Aero provides end-to-end UAV/drone solutions. They provide integrated solutions for surveying and inspections through the use state-of-the-art Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology for in the areas of construction, infrastructure, real estate, media and agriculture in India. The startup has a training arm called Unmanned Engineeria which provides training in unmanned aerial systems and drones. Their drones are equipped with full HD/4K cameras, thermal cameras, Lidar sensor, crop sensing devices and other specialized cameras and sensors and are deployed for aerial photography, aerial mapping, aerial inspections and other commercial applications.
Location: Chennai
Year: 2014
2. Airpix
Airpix is a drone startup based in Navi Mumbai, India. It provides data processing and analytics solutions derived from unmanned aerial vehicles or drones and has paying customers across various industries including government planning bodies, mining, oil and gas, railways, roads, agriculture and wind and solar power. By utilising a network of enrolled UAV operators across India and in some cases in-house UAV operation teams, Airpix gathers high quality UAV data and carries out data processing and analytics to generate valuable insights for customers. They capture high resolution aerial imagery in visual, thermal and near infrared spectrum, process it to generate high density point clouds, 2D & 3D outputs like orthophoto, digital surface models, asset inspection reports and more, to generate insights such as planimetric and volumetric analyses, change tracking, defect identification. The startup aims to achieve preventive maintenance through emergency response planning by deploying UAVs for collecting data in situations potentially hazardous to human life.
Place: Navi Mumbai
Year: 2013
3. Milan Infotech
A provider software services and solutions in the areas of not just aerospace, but also automotive, telecommunications, manufacturing, transportation, utilities, government and retail markets. It provides, advanced software training along with the certification on niche skills.
This startup helps clients meet their global sourcing needs by identifying, evaluating and configuring their IT architectures across multiple geographies to reduce costs, mitigate risks and maximize performance.
Location: Bangalore
Year: 2007
4. NavStik Labs
NavStik Labs is a startup that works towards building innovative products in the Autonomous Systems space. Last year, the startup came up with an advanced flight computer system and its operating system, which essentially forms the brains of these drones. They have their Flyt platform that comprises of FlytPOD, which is the flight computer and FlytOS, which is the operating system. Additionally, the startup also offers a HackerSpace Internship Program aimed at young researchers with a hacker’s mindset to explore, learn and implement ideas around Intelligent UAVs.
Location: Pune
5. Acumen Aviation
Acumen offers a full range of services throughout the lifecycle of the aircraft including aircraft sourcing, pre-purchase inspections, project management, lease management and re-marketing, fleet audits, aircraft trading and powerplant management. Its customers include aircraft lessors, airlines, banks, private equity and investors. It has offices in China and US.
Place: Bangalore
Year: 2009
6. Momentum India
Momentum India was established as a consultancy, to fill in the gaps in basic knowledge in safety and security regarding aviation. The plan was to work with established firms and training them on these issues. Apart from that, it provides multiple services like on-site safety audits, crisis and emergency management. It has prominent Aviation Search and Rescue (SAR) services. The startup conducts specialist helicopter operations, and focuses on International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recognized training courses for ambulance, Search and Rescue (SAR) and military clients. It also has a National Search & Rescue Services for various government and resources industry clients, trained and established regional air ambulance services, and consulted to clients on the safe and effective operation of SAR services.
Location: Noida
