Bengaluru-based aerospace and defence electronics startup Sanlayan has raised ₹186 crore in a Series A funding round led by investors Ashish Kacholia, Lashit Sanghvi, and Jungle Ventures, with participation from Gemba Capital, Singularity Ventures, and Shastra VC. This comes on the heels of a ₹36 crore infusion in March 2024 from Jungle Ventures, which facilitated Sanlayan’s strategic acquisition of legacy ESDM player Dexcel Electronics.
“What drew us to Sanlayan was their clear understanding of India’s defence electronics landscape, and their hybrid strategy to solve it. This is not just a business opportunity; it’s a national imperative,” noted Ashish Kacholia.
Dexcel, known for its contributions to high-impact programs such as LCA Tejas, Jaguar, Sukhoi, and Chandrayaan-3, has helped Sanlayan rapidly establish a foothold across the defence value chain.
Commenting on the trajectory, Rishab Malik, Partner at Jungle Ventures, said, “The revenue ramp-up at Dexcel, combined with strategic capital and Sanlayan’s operating discipline, reinforces our confidence in their ability to scale sustainably across the defence electronics value chain.”
Sanlayan is currently focused on developing advanced technologies such as AESA radar systems for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and is forming strategic R&D partnerships with Indian deep-tech startups and global OEMs.
“Our defence sector is at a once-in-a-generation inflection point,” said Rohan Gala, CEO of Sanlayan. “We will continue to acquire capabilities both organically and inorganically. Capital is being allocated for suo-moto development of critical technologies.”
To support its expansion, the company is also ramping up recruitment, particularly targeting defence experts and veterans to drive growth in counter-UAS (CUAS) and electronic warfare (EW) systems.
