Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu invests in Tamil Nadu-based drone startup Yali Aerospace

Chennai-based SaaS giant Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu today announced an investment in the Thanjavur-based drone startup, Yali Aerospace.

The amount of the investment has not been disclosed. The move aligns with Vembu's vision of fostering innovation and supporting indigenous technology startups.

Vembu announces investment on X

"We are happy to announce our investment in Yali Aerospace, a drone startup based in Thanjavur led by the husband and wife team of Dinesh Baluraj and Anugraha. They returned from the Netherlands to their hometown of Thanjavur to start this," Vembu wrote on X, an Elon Musk-owned platform.

We are happy to announce our investment in Yali Aerospace, a drone startup based in Tanjavur led by the husband and wife team of Dinesh Baluraj and Anugraha. They returned from the Netherlands to their home town of Tanjavur to start this.

They have built a fixed wing drone with… pic.twitter.com/A78RawTyTN

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) May 28, 2024

The investment comes at a time when India is actively promoting drone technology to transform various sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, and the military. 

Who are the founders of Yali Aerospace?

Yali Aerospace was founded in 2022 by Dinesh Baluraj and his wife Anugraha after they returned from the Netherlands to their hometown of Thanjavur.

The startup focuses on creating easy-to-use drone technology for both civil and military applications.

According to Vembu, Dinesh was inspired to start the company after witnessing the grief of a mother who lost her children in an accident, which motivated him to improve healthcare facilities in rural India.

Yali Aerospace develops fixed-wing drones 

Yali Aerospace has developed fixed-wing drones capable of vertical take-off and landing, with a range of up to 150 kilometers and a payload capacity of up to 7 kilograms.

Notably, these drones can reach a maximum speed of 155 kilometres per hour and are designed to deliver medical commodities, such as medicines and organs, to any destination in India in less than 20 minutes through the Yali Network Bridge.

The drones are also used for surveillance, logistics, precision agriculture, infrastructure inspection, and disaster response.