AlgoFET Raises ₹15 Cr To Scale Autonomous Drone Infrastructure

Deep-tech startup AlgoFET has raised ₹15 crore in a Pre-Series A funding round from Piper Serica, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Bengaluru-based company said it is planning to expand its autonomous ground infrastructure for drones with the fundraise.

The funding will be used to develop next-generation products, increase in-house manufacturing capacity, strengthen intellectual property and expand deployments across defence, enterprise and international markets, AlgoFET said.

The company is focused on infrastructure that allows drones to dock, recharge and resume operations with limited human intervention.

As drones find wider applications in areas such as defence, agriculture, logistics, surveillance and infrastructure, battery charging and replacement remain dependent on manual processes in many cases, it added.

Focus On Drone Docking And Charging Systems

Founded in December 2023 by IIT Guwahati alumnus Ankit Mishra, AlgoFET is developing an integrated technology stack covering autonomous docking, battery management, high-power charging, embedded electronics, firmware and cloud-based fleet monitoring.

It has deployed more than 2,000 units and has an order pipeline exceeding 4,000 units, the company said.

It also has an order book worth around ₹100 crore and works with drone original equipment manufacturers and the Indian Army, it added.

The company operates a 12,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Bengaluru and plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen production and operational capabilities as deployments increase.

"India has invested heavily in drones. What we have not yet built is the ground infrastructure that lets those drones stay in the air. Every mission still ends when the battery does and a human has to intervene," Mishra said in a statement.

"AlgoFET exists to close that gap, not by building a better charger, but by building the infrastructure layer the entire drone ecosystem needs to operate at scale. This funding lets us turn a proven technical insight into national-scale infrastructure," he added.

Expansion Plans Include Overseas Markets

AlgoFET said it is seeing early traction from manufacturers in the US and Europe and intends to scale its presence in global markets alongside its domestic expansion.

Piper Serica said its investment was based on the growing need for systems that can support drone operations beyond the aircraft itself.

"The next phase of the drone ecosystem will not be defined by flight alone, but also by the intelligence and infrastructure that keeps these systems operational over time," Hardik Dua from Piper Serica said.

As India pursues greater technological self-reliance, building ownership over such critical underlying technologies will be increasingly important, he added.