Outperformers Rankings 2026: Top 5 Start-Ups in the Aerospace Segment

1. Raphe

Making drones for the nation

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• Founding year: 2017 | HQ: Noida

• Founder(s): Nitin Katiyar, Vivek Mishra and Vikash Mishra

• Key Investors: Ascent Capital, General Catalyst, Munish Financial

The company is challenging the long-held belief that deep-tech ventures struggle to secure funding and investor confidence. In 2017, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were barely envisioned for defence use in India. Policy frameworks were still evolving, procurement was limited, and the idea of a fully homegrown drone ecosystem felt distant.

Yet, brothers, Vivek and Vikas Mishra took a bold bet: that India could not only design drones but also manufacture every critical component, engines, sensors, avionics entirely in-house. It was a leap of faith.

The company’s mission was, by design, countercultural. Where others outsourced the complex and costly subsystems, Raphe made a principle of end-to-end development.

Today, Raphe mPhibr offers nine different drones, including those designed for maritime patrol and situational awareness at sea. It counts more than 10 customers, all of them Indian government agencies, including the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

2. Skyroot

Democratising access to space

69.4 of 100

• Founding year: 2018 | HQ: Hyderabad

• Founder(s): Pawan Kumar Chandana, Naga Bharath Daka

• Key Investors: GIC, Sherpalo Ventures, Temasek

Skyroot works as a developer of on-demand launch vehicles for small satellite deployment. The start-up develops small-lift launch vehicles designed for quick turnaround and lower costs.

One of the main objectives of this start-up is rapid launch-on-demand, a capability increasingly important for commercial and strategic missions. Their strong focus remains on indigenous design, advanced material and modern manufacturing.

Skyroot Aerospace has raised $99.8 million in funding from global investors including Sherpalo Ventures, Temasek, and GIC, and is currently valued at $519mn.

The company is regarded as one of the frontrunners in demonstrating the efficiency and agility that private stakeholders bring to the country’s space sector.

Skyroot also achieved a major milestone by successfully flying Vikram-S, a sub-orbital launch vehicle, marking one of India’s earliest private rocket launches.

3. AgniKul

Gateway to affordable orbit

61.4 of 100

• Founding year: 2017 | HQ: Chennai

• Founder(s): Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy, Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, Janardhana Raju

• Key Investors: Pi Ventures, Zerodha, LetsVenture

Agnikul Cosmos, incubated at IIT Madras, is a private space-tech start-up that designs, manufactures, tests and launches orbital-class rockets for micro and nano satellites.

Agnikul’s core objective is to democratise space technology by making satellite launches more accessible, flexible and cost-effective, enabling wider adoption across sectors such as communications, earth observation and defence.

Unlike the traditional model, where multiple satellites wait to be bundled on a single large government rocket, Agnikul aims to transform the launch market by offering small rockets for mission-specific launches, tailored to individual use cases and timelines. Also the start-up has been gaining traction because it is targeting low earth orbit.

4. Garuda Aerospace

Aerial intelligence powered with AI

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• Founding year: 2015 | HQ: Chennai

• Founder(s): Rithika Mohan, Agnishwar Jayaprakash

• Key Investors: Hathor Corporate Advisors, Rishabh Home, Bhagwati Ventures

Garuda Aerospace is a defence and aerospace start-up specialising in designing, manufacturing and customising unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for defence, mapping, surveillance, agriculture and industrial applications.

The start-up also offers precision inspection solutions aimed at minimising operational risk, optimising maintenance workflows and reducing costs.

Today Garuda Aerospace’s 400-plus clients include government, PSUs and global defence firms, while being one of the earliest to commercialise drones under the “drone-as-a-service (DaaS)” model.

The founders plan to expand the use cases of their domestically manufactured drones across multiple industries.

As per the founders, Garuda will deploy 25,000-plus kisan drones through various programmes.

5. Aereo

Giving a bird’s-eye view of the world

46.9 of 100

• Founding year: 2013 | HQ: Bengaluru

• Founder(s): Vipul Singh, Suhas Banshiwala

• Key Investors: JSW Ventures, 360 One, Resolute Futurewave

Aereo is a drone-technology and aerial-intelligence company that leverages drones combined with advanced data analytics to deliver solutions across multiple sectors and use cases. Its customers span both the private sector and government, using the insights generated from aerial data to support decision-making, operational efficiency and long-term planning.

The start-up holds over 10 patents. It has mapped over 45,000 villages nationwide, surveyed 15mn acres of land and conducted more than 750 mine surveys.

Aereo extensively deploys artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance data accuracy and deliver actionable insights across sectors. It has seen rapid adoption among organisations such as Hindalco, Tata Steel and the Survey of India.

The New Frontline

The latest skirmish with a neighbour and the crucial role played by indigenous space and defence technology are creating long-term growth opportunities for start-ups operating in this domain. Policy push, combined with rising government and private sector engagement, will be key to India’s rise as an aerospace power

Research and data partner: Ayvole