Tsalla Aerospace raises USD 1 million in its first external funding round

Bengaluru, Nov 4 (PTI) Tsalla Aerospace, a Bengaluru-based deep-tech company developing next-generation autonomous systems for defence and industrial applications, has raised USD 1 million in its first external funding round.

The round is led by Sunny Stalnaker, Executive Vice President of ASML, the Dutch multinational and global leader in semiconductor manufacturing technology, the company said in a release.

Her participation marks a significant endorsement of Tsalla's vision to build an integrated autonomy ecosystem for the future of unmanned systems, it said.

The funding is further supported by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and equity-free grants from the Ministry of Defence's Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) programme, underscoring strong institutional backing and alignment with India's strategic technology priorities, it further added.

Founded in 2019 and incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Tsalla Aerospace is developing a hardware-agnostic AI Pilot that allows drones and other unmanned systems to operate independently, even in GPS and communication-denied environments with zero operator cognitive load, it said.

The company currently works with the Indian Navy and Indian Army on key defence projects, including: Confined-space reconnaissance systems for intelligence gathering in high-risk zones; Rapid-deployment, backpack-based VTOL platforms operable by a single user; and Offshore and high-altitude logistics solutions such as ship-to-ship delivery in harsh weather conditions.

Looking ahead, Tsalla Aerospace plans to raise USD 8 million in its upcoming Seed Round to expand its AI autonomy stack globally,enter new defence and industrial markets and continue pushing the boundaries of unmanned systems from the depths of the ocean to the edge of space, the company added. PTI KSU ADB