Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup AquaAirX, which is building next-generation amphibious and underwater autonomous platforms, has raised ₹12.5 crore in a seed funding round led by Rainmatter, the investment arm of Zerodha founded by Nithin Kamath.
The round also saw participation from Prime Venture Partners, Wyser, and India Accelerator, signalling growing investor interest in defence-grade autonomous systems being built indigenously in India.
The fresh capital will be used to strengthen the startup’s core autonomy stack, air-to-water transition reliability, sensing and communication systems, and to scale its engineering and research teams across robotics, controls, autonomy, and embedded systems.
Credits: StartupTalky
Solving a critical gap in maritime operations
Founded by Jitendra Kumar Purnmal Saini and Gouthami T S, AquaAirX is developing a first-of-its-kind amphibious unmanned platform that can seamlessly transition between aerial flight and underwater operations—eliminating the need for separate aerial drones and underwater vehicles.
This capability allows missions to continue across air and sea without redeployment, a major limitation in current maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations.
“Today’s maritime operations are constrained by siloed platforms that operate either in the air or underwater, creating gaps in intelligence, response time, and operational continuity,” said Jitendra Saini, Co-founder & CTO, AquaAirX.
“Our vision is to eliminate this fragmentation by building autonomous systems that can seamlessly transition across domains while remaining reliable, covert, and mission-ready.”
Focus on defence-grade autonomy and certification
A large part of the funding will go towards testing, validation, and certification to defence-grade standards, as AquaAirX prepares for pilot deployments with strategic customers in the defence and critical infrastructure space.
The startup is also building a Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HAUV) designed for precise underwater inspection, monitoring, and intervention, targeting both defence and high-value commercial applications such as ports, offshore assets, and critical subsea infrastructure.
According to Gouthami T S, Co-founder & CEO, the goal is to redefine maritime intelligence with truly multi-domain platforms.
“The future of maritime intelligence and surveillance will be defined by platforms that can seamlessly operate across domains. This funding allows us to accelerate our vision of building indigenous, mission-ready amphibious and underwater autonomous systems for defence and critical commercial applications,” she said.
Why Rainmatter and other investors backed AquaAirX
Rainmatter, which has backed several deep-tech and infrastructure-focused startups, said AquaAirX stood out for its systems-level thinking and long-term vision.
“We invested in AquaAirX because they are not just building a vehicle, but laying the foundational architecture for true autonomy across air and underwater domains,” said Abhinav Singh Negi, Investment Manager at Rainmatter.
“The team is tackling one of the hardest engineering problems—multi-domain autonomous operations—with rare clarity and ambition.”
He added that the company has the potential to emerge as a category-defining player in next-generation autonomous systems.
Strong early traction and global validation
Over the past year, AquaAirX has reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 for its flagship amphibious platform, a key milestone indicating successful testing in relevant environments.
The startup has also been selected for the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) NeuSPHERE program, cleared multiple milestones under India’s iDEX initiative, and received recognition from IDEABAAZ and the HDFC Tech Innovators program. These achievements have helped the company validate its technology and build early global partnerships.
Credits: Outlook Business
Roadmap to 2027: trials, manufacturing, and market entry
Looking ahead, AquaAirX plans to deepen collaborations with Indian and international defence partners, scale up large-scale trials, and begin preparations for manufacturing and deployment.
The company aims to enter defence and commercial markets by 2027, positioning itself at the intersection of autonomy, robotics, and maritime security—an area of increasing strategic importance globally.
As geopolitical tensions rise and demand for persistent, low-risk surveillance grows, platforms like AquaAirX’s could become central to how future maritime operations are conducted—above and below the waterline.
