The Hyderabad-based startup plans to use the fresh proceeds to develop new products, spur R&D, and expand sales and marketing efforts
Constelli claims to work with India’s defence ministry, the DRDO, and defense contractors in South Korea, Australia, and Singapore
Founded in 2017, Constelli specialises in developing digital signal processing solutions for the defence sector
Defence-focussed deeptech startup Constelli has raised $3 Mn in its pre-Series A funding round led by Pravega Ventures.
The Hyderabad-based startup plans to use the fresh proceeds to develop new products and expand its sales and marketing efforts. A part of the capital will also be utilised for capital expenditure as well as to spur research and development (R&D).
Founded in 2017 by Satya Gopal Panigrahi and Avinash Chenreddy, Constelli specialises in developing digital signal processing solutions for the defence sector.
Leveraging modelling, simulation, and distributed computing, Constelli sells products such as drone-based telemetry receiver (used to acquire critical data from remote locations), a suite of electronic warfare testing tools (to simulate realistic operational scenarios), RADAR target echo simulator, among others.
Simply put, the offerings from Constelli’s stable enhance the software development lifecycle of electronic warfare systems for airborne and ground defense platforms.
Commenting on the funding, Constelli cofounder and CEO Panigrahi said, “We are excited to partner with Pravega Ventures as we continue to grow our business. This funding will propel our vision of establishing an Indian company becoming a global defense player. The support within the Indian ecosystem will help us accelerate our investments into niche technology areas and move forward towards that larger vision.”
Constelli claims to work with India’s defence ministry, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), as well as defense contractors in South Korea, Australia, and Singapore.
The fundraise comes at a time when India is witnessing a surge in the number of defence tech startups, driven by the government’s focus on self-reliance and indigenisation of defence production.
Initiatives like the Defence Innovation Organisation’s iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) have provided a platform for startups to collaborate with the armed forces and defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs).
Recently, the Karnataka government signed an agreement with the DRDO to support defence startups. Through this collaboration, the selected startups will gain access to DRDO’s testing facilities and other resources.
To cash in on the growth of defence tech startups in the country, many sector-specific funds are also emerging. Recently, deeptech-focused VC firm growX ventures floated its second fund with a target corpus of INR 400 Cr (around $47.12 Mn) to invest in the defence space.
Navneet Kaushik, former director at Technology Development Board (TDB), also floated an angel fund last year to back early-stage tech startups in the defence tech space.
