Backed by top investors, Sanlayan’s ₹1.86 billion funding fuels its mission to redefine India’s defence tech with cutting-edge electronics and rapid team expansion.
Defence electronics startup Sanlayan has raised ₹1.86 billion in its Series A funding round, attracting marquee investors Ashish Kacholia, Lashit Sanghvi, and Jungle Ventures.
This round follows an earlier ₹360 million funding in March 2024, also led by Jungle Ventures. Existing backers Gemba Capital and Singularity Ventures also participated, alongside new investor Shastra VC in the round.
Launched in 2023 by former Zetwerk executives Abhijit Kothawale, Rohan Gala, and Rahul Vamsidhar, Sanlayan designs and manufactures electronic systems for high-stakes applications across aerospace, defence, and space.
Its portfolio includes avionics, radar systems, naval technology, and electronics for satellite communications and space exploration.
With the new capital infusion, Sanlayan is preparing to scale its operations and deepen its technological capabilities. It has set hiring goals, aiming to expand its engineering workforce fivefold within six months.
The company is actively recruiting research scientists, domain experts, defence veterans, and senior professionals from both the public and private defence sectors.
Sanlayan’s CEO and co-founder, Rohan Gala, expressed confidence in the company’s strategic direction. He noted that the Indian defence industry is undergoing a significant transformation, creating an opportunity for domestic firms to play a central role.
According to him, Sanlayan will use the funds to further strengthen its research efforts and independently develop advanced technologies for counter-unmanned aerial systems and electronic warfare. He also highlighted the company’s focus on scaling through both organic growth and acquisitions.
As part of this strategy, Sanlayan has acquired a majority stake in Dexcel Electronics, a veteran ESDM firm with a history of contributing to major defence initiatives such as Jaguar, Sukhoi, LCA Tejas, and Chandrayaan-3.
The startup is currently developing an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system for India’s unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) programme. It has also formed collaborations with five Indian startups and several international original equipment manufacturers to build next-generation defence technologies jointly.
