India, 23rd August 2024: NxtQube, India’s premier drone infrastructure company, is announcing that the firm has obtained a seed round funding led by Venture Catalysts, India’s leading integrated incubator and accelerator platform, and also witnessed participation from Pontaq VC (STPI), Ananta Bizcon LLP, Rushikesh Bhandari, and other angel investors. The Nashik-based firm will use the acquired funds to enhance its operations in the defence and enterprise sectors across markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, and the US with 2 million drones.
The seed funding round marks a notable milestone for NxtQube in its objective to develop a Universal Drone Docking Station, designed to serve diverse drone categories irrespective of applications. This essential capital inflow will assist NxtQube to make headway in accelerating its strategic expansion, research & development, increasing product line and penetrating new strategic markets to cater to new-age consumers across levels. Furthermore, the firm also envisions unlocking new dimensions of interaction with aerospace technology and enriching lives through innovative solutions. This will be driven through NxtQube’s Drone dock; 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.
Nikhil Rajput, Co-Founder & CEO of NxtQube, shared his optimism following the seed round success, saying, “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 in 2022, 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.
