Sai Pattabiram, Founder & MD at ZuppaChennai, India, 6TH March 2025: Zuppa, the company leading the nations push towards Indigenous drones has entered into a strategic partnership that involves both an undisclosed investment as well as orders for its products with Garuda Aerospace a well-known leading player in India’s Agri and Defence drone ecosystem. This unique partnership between two leading players from the Indian drone ecosystem is among the first aimed at advancing secure drone technology and strengthening India’s position in the global drone ecosystem. Zuppa is India’s only deep-tech company specializing in designing, developing, and manufacturing cyber-secure drones and drone autopilots. At the core of its innovation is the Indigenous Cyber Physical Stack, comprising autopilot hardware, firmware, command control protocols, and UI software, built on its patented Disseminated Parallel Control Computing in Real Time (DPCC) architecture.

Unlike many drone manufacturers reliant on imported components, Zuppa designs its own autopilot systems, allowing it to choose Non-Chinese origin components for its PCBs. This significantly reduces cybersecurity risks associated with embedded malware, making Zuppa’s technology a trusted and resilient alternative in the global drone market. Through this investment, Garuda Aerospace and Zuppa have joined forces to accelerate next-generation drone solutions, expand market reach, and position India as a global leader in secure drone technology. As the only Indian company among a select seven globally with proprietary deep-tech in secure autopilot systems for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), Zuppa brings unmatched expertise in cyber-secure autopilot advancements, while Garuda Aerospace leverages its strengths in financing, operations, and customer acquisition to scale adoption especially in  large value procurements  .

Zuppa’s standardized drone platforms offer modular adaptability across various categories, similar to the roll-out chassis concept in the automotive industry or standardized designs in computing devices like laptops and mobile phones. This innovation enables partners to cater to diverse customer needs with minimal development time and cost, making Zuppa a deep-tech leader in this rapidly evolving sector.

Venkatesh Sai, Co-Founder & Technical Director at ZuppaAgnishwar Jayprakash, Founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace said, At Garuda Aerospace, we are committed to driving innovation and self-reliance in the Indian drone ecosystem. Our strategic investment in Zuppa marks a significant step towards advancing secure and indigenous drone technologies. By combining Zuppa’s deep-tech expertise in cyber-secure autopilot systems with our strengths in operations and market expansion, we aim to position India as a global leader in next-generation drone solutions. This partnership is a testament to our shared vision of fostering an Atmanirbhar Bharat in aerospace and defence.”

Sai Pattabiram, Founder & MD at Zuppa, said India has the potential to emerge as a Global Hub for Secure Drones by 2030. To achieve this, the Indian drone industry must transition from a commoditized assembly model of imported components to a tiered cooperative ecosystem, similar to mature sectors like Automotive and Aerospace. Our partnership with Garuda Aerospace is a pioneering step in this direction.”

Venkatesh Sai, Co-Founder & Technical Director at Zuppa, highlighted the synergy between the two companies, Our partnership with Garuda Aerospace is a win-win collaboration, allowing us to focus on our core technological expertise and building a network to distribute and service our products across India   while Garuda Aerospace expands our products and technologies across applications and geographies . This alliance sets a precedent for more symbiotic partnerships in the Indian drone ecosystem.”

With the government’s push for Atmanirbhar Bharat and increasing strategic defence partnerships, this collaboration marks a transformative shift in India’s drone industry. By leveraging each other’s strengths, Zuppa and Garuda Aerospace are paving the way for indigenous, cyber-secure drone solutions that will redefine defence, commercial, and industrial applications on a global scale while setting the tone for collaborative initiatives between other players within the Indian Drone Ecosystem .

Garuda Aerospace is among India’s top Drone companies with a strong Brand presence and reach across the country’s Agricultural drone community. Recognising the Country’s immediate need for Secure drones from a national security perspective Garuda is on a mission to strengthen India’s Indigenous drone Ecosystem starting with ZUPPA, a core Deep Tech player in the sector with more to follow.

ZUPPA Geo Navigation Technologies India’s fully home grown Deep Tech company leading the nations indigenous secure drones drive with its patented DPCC computing architecture has developed a range of affordable, atmanirbhar, user friendly secure drone platforms that can be used by developers and service providers to build Applications with minimal efforts and time, there by shortening their getting to Revenue Cycle.