Aerospace and Defence: Sanlayan Technologies Raises Rs 186 Crore in Series A Funding

Aerospace and defence startup Sanlayan Technologies has successfully obtained Rs 186 crore ($22 million) in its Series A funding round. This round was led by notable investors such as Ashish Kacholia, Lashit Sanghvi, and Jungle Ventures, with support from existing investors Gemba Capital, Singularity Ventures, and new investor Shastra VC.

With the newly acquired funding, Sanlayan aims to expand its engineering workforce by five times within the next six months. This startup is actively seeking domain specialists, R&D scientists, retired military veterans, and senior personnel from both public sector units and leading private defence firms.

About Sanlayan Technologies

Established by former Zetwerk employees Abhijit Kothawale, Rohan Gala, and Rahul Vamsidhar, Sanlayan focuses on the design and development of sophisticated electronic systems. These systems include radar, electronic warfare, and mission-critical avionics. The startup successfully raised $4.4 million in its seed round in March of the previous year from various prominent institutional investors, including First Cheque, Gemba Capital, and Singularity Ventures.

Future Development Plans

“Sanlayan is committed to continuing to develop capabilities through both organic and inorganic means,” stated Rohan Gala, the co-founder and CEO of Sanlayan. The company is designating funds for the self-driven advancement of critical technologies for Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS) and Electronic Warfare (EW) systems. In the past six months, Sanlayan has intensified its design and manufacturing capabilities through the acquisition of Dexcel’s operations and is now preparing to implement extensive indigenisation and enhancement programs.

Strategic Acquisition of Dexcel Electronics

Sanlayan has recently acquired a majority stake in Dexcel Electronics, a 20-year-old embedded systems company, to enhance its abilities in delivering advanced indigenous solutions tailored for the defence, aerospace, and space industries. Dexcel Electronics has played a significant role in crucial projects such as the Jaguar, Sukhoi, LCA Tejas, and Chandrayaan-3 missions. Leveraging its in-house research and development, Sanlayan is also working on developing AESA radar for India’s unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) initiative.