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Partnership · Government, Defense & Space

Zuppa to train army drone pilots

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Zuppa logo
Date
Company
Zuppa
What it does
Defence drone maker
Kind
Partnership
Based in
Chennai
Founded
2008
Sector
Government, Defense & Space

What they do

Zuppa is a Chennai defence drone technology company that builds drones and navigation systems

What happened

It signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Corporation for a drone pilot training programme for Agniveers

Why it matters

Training starts October 2026 at Wellington, covering about 1,000 personnel a year and over 2,000 in three years

The details

  • Zuppa signed an MoU with TNUAVC.
  • The programme trains army Agniveers as drone pilots.
  • It begins at the Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington.
  • Courses run in 4-week modules.

The bigger picture

  • The first phase covers about 1,000 personnel a year.
  • Zuppa aims to certify 2,000+ defence personnel in three years.
  • It also sets up drone labs at army regimental centres.

About the business

  • Zuppa builds drones and the autopilot (the computer brain that flies them) in its own factory in Chennai.
  • Its main buyers are the Indian Army, foreign governments, state agencies and commercial companies.
  • It earns money by selling drones, navigation systems and vehicle tracking systems for defence and civil use.
  • Few firms in the world make their own autopilot and small drone platform; Zuppa says it is the only one in India.
  • It delivered over 500 drones in 2026 and expects revenue to rise from about ₹8 crore in FY26 to as much as ₹80 crore.
  • It is planning to raise up to $10 million of equity to expand its technology centre and sell more at home and abroad.

What happens next

  • Training begins in October 2026.

Founders

  • **Sai Pattabiram** is founder and managing director. He holds an MBA from Symbiosis International University and earlier worked in sales and trading roles in the steel business. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sai-pattabiram-299a843b/
  • **Venkatesh Sai** is co-founder and technical director. He studied at Loyola-ICAM College of Engineering and Technology and holds patents in real-time control computing. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatesh-sai-88170110a/

About Zuppa

Product
Cyber-secure drones, autopilots, and autonomous navigation systems
Customers
The Indian Armed Forces, defense agencies, and commercial enterprises requiring secure unmanned systems
How it makes money
Designs, manufactures, and sells indigenous cyber-secure drones, autopilot hardware, and navigation software
What sets it apart
Offers entirely homegrown, cyber-secure autopilot and navigation systems that operate without Chinese parts and function in GPS-denied environments

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