Bengaluru-based startup AquaAirX unveils India’s first amphibious drone

Bengaluru-based startup AquaAirX has unveiled what it calls India’s first amphibious drone capable of operating both in the air and underwater. It is a development that could reshape maritime surveillance, defence operations, and offshore industrial inspections in the country.

The breakthrough platform marks a milestone not just for the company but also for India’s growing ambition to build indigenous cutting-edge robotics and autonomous systems.

Drone built for two worlds

At the core of AquaAirX’s innovation is an amphibious drone platform designed to seamlessly transition between aerial flight and underwater operations.

Unlike conventional drones that operate solely in the air or underwater robots that remain submerged, AquaAirX’s system can take off like a traditional drone, dive into water during a mission, perform underwater tasks, and resurface to continue aerial flight.

The company’s flagship platform, AVATAAR, is engineered for complex maritime missions that demand intelligence across both environments.

Such a hybrid capability could dramatically improve efficiency in sectors where separate systems typically handle aerial and underwater monitoring.

Its potential applications include:

• Maritime and coastal surveillance

• Defence and naval reconnaissance

• Offshore infrastructure inspections

• Environmental monitoring and ocean research

• Disaster response and search-and-rescue missions

By integrating air and underwater capabilities into a single vehicle, the platform could reduce deployment costs and operational complexity while delivering real-time situational awareness in challenging environments.

Founded by Engineers with an ocean vision

AquaAirX was founded in 2024 by aeronautical engineers Gouthami T S and Jitendra Kumar Purnmal Saini, who shared a passion for robotics, aerospace engineering, and autonomous systems.

The idea for the company emerged during their engineering journey when the founders began exploring the limitations of existing maritime technologies.

They noticed a clear operational gap that aerial drones could survey oceans from above, while underwater vehicles explored beneath, but no single system could do both efficiently.

Determined to solve this challenge, the duo began building prototypes that could transition seamlessly between air and water environments. What started as a research concept gradually evolved into a full-fledged deep-tech startup focused on building AI-powered amphibious drones and underwater robotics systems.

Their mission is to enable industries, governments, and researchers to explore and monitor ocean environments using intelligent autonomous systems.

Rapid progress and Investor interest

Despite being a young startup, AquaAirX has already made notable progress in technology development.

The company’s amphibious drone platform has reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, meaning the system has been demonstrated successfully in relevant operational environments and is approaching real-world deployment.

The startup has also attracted investor interest. Recently, AquaAirX raised ₹12.5 crore in seed funding, with the round led by Rainmatter, the investment arm of Zerodha.

The funding round also saw participation from Prime Venture Partners, Wyser, and India Accelerator.

The capital will help the startup enhance its drones’ autonomy capabilities, strengthen underwater communication systems, and expand its engineering and research teams.

Building India’s maritime Robotics future

Beyond technology development, AquaAirX has also gained exposure through global startup and innovation ecosystems. The company has been associated with accelerator programs such as NSRCEL and has participated in international initiatives, including Israel Aerospace Industries’ NeuSPHERE program, which supports deep-tech startups through mentorship and global industry connections.

As maritime security and ocean exploration gain strategic importance worldwide, technologies capable of delivering multi-domain intelligence across air and water are expected to play a crucial role.

For India, home to a vast coastline and growing blue-economy ambitions, such innovations could support everything from coastal defence and port monitoring to offshore energy infrastructure management.

The road ahead

AquaAirX is now focused on advancing its amphibious drone platform toward large-scale field trials and commercial deployment. 

The company aims to collaborate with defence agencies, maritime authorities, and industrial partners to bring its technology into real-world missions.

With continued research, partnerships, and funding, the startup hopes to take a place as a global player in the emerging field of amphibious robotics and ocean intelligence systems.

For a startup founded just recently, the launch of India’s first amphibious drone points to both technological ambition and the growing maturity of India’s deep-tech ecosystem.

If AquaAirX succeeds in scaling its platform, the skies and the oceans could soon become the next frontier for Indian-built autonomous systems.

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