India’s drone infrastructure startup NxtQube raises undisclosed seed round funding led by Venture Catalysts, Pontag IV (STPI), Ananta Bizcon LLP, Rushikesh Bhandari and other angel investors. The startup will leverage the funds to enhance its operations in the defence and enterprise sectors across markets in APAC, Europe, and the US with two million drones.
Co-founded by Nikhil Rajput and Nilesh Palkar in 2022, this Nasik-based startup achieves a remarkable milestone in its objective to develop a Universal Drone Docking Station (UDDS). This UDDS will be designed to serve diverse drone categories irrespective of applications. The new funds will enable NxtQube to move forward with accelerating its strategic expansion, R&D, increasing product line and penetrating new strategic markets to cater to new-age consumers across levels.
Further, the startup also aims to unlock new dimensions of interaction with aerospace technology, largely driven by UDDS, which will be a fully automated and industrial-grade universal drone docking station offering cross-compatibility with diverse drone manufacturers and technologies to ensure an efficient aerial ecosystem.
Speaking on the occasion, Nikhil Rajput, Co-Founder & CEO of NxtQube, shared his optimism, “The aviation sector has been transforming rapidly through the growing emphasis on drones and this investment will further assist us to ensuring a future to seamlessly integrate technology with the skies to enhance human lives. This funding will also enable us to advance a step further to enhance the quality of our Universal Drone Docking Station to cater to diverse categories and applications. Soon after our domestic launch, we will debut this globally to ensure strategic market penetration to sustain and enhance our profitability. By leveraging innovations, NxtQube is poised to transform how drones interact with the world, making aerial solutions more accessible and effective.”
Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder, and Managing Director of Venture Catalysts, shared his insights on the investment decision, saying, “NxtQube’s innovative approach to drone infrastructure aligns perfectly with the rapidly evolving drone ecosystem. Their universal docking station has the potential to significantly reduce operational costs and increase efficiency in drone deployments. We believe NxtQube is well-positioned to become a global leader in drone infrastructure, catering to the growing demand for autonomous drone operations across various sectors. What particularly excites us is the scalability of their solution and its potential to revolutionise industries beyond just drone operations. As India pushes towards becoming a drone hub, companies like NxtQube will play a crucial role in building the necessary infrastructure.”
Since its inception, NxtQube has been able to sustain a meteoric rise in the domain, developing indigenous docking stations, building indigenous hardware and feature rich firmware — complementing the Made in India initiative. This has helped the firm to make uninterrupted remote drone operations possible irrespective of locations. NxtQube’s docking stations boast top of the line compatibility of scheduling autonomous missions, along with remote diagnostic capabilities with minimal downtime and assistive pilot features.
The firm is presently developing a battery-swapping module to extend the operational efficiency of drones. However, the firm is also set to address the growing emphasis on global drone innovations by developing docks for swarm capabilities, logistics docks designed for hub-to-hub and last-mile delivery, and platforms for virtual piloting. Its Universal drone docking station, Nxtqube Drone dock is capable of undertaking complex activities that include take-off, landing, flight surveillance, charging and data extraction.
