Qualcomm-backed drone startup ideaForge has reportedly filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering (IPO).

As per reports, the public issue will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 300 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) of nearly 48.7 Lakh shares. 

Promoter group entities, Qualcomm, and venture capital firms are among the investors who will participate in the OFS. 

The startup would use the proceeds of the IPO to pare debt and for working capital requirements and product development.  

JM Financial and IIFL Securities are the lead managers for the IPO. 

Last month, Inc42 exclusively reported that ideaForge passed a resolution to turn into a public company ahead of it filing its DRHP. The Mumbai-based startup, which was originally incorporated as ‘ideaForge Technology Private Limited’, changed its name to ‘ideaForge Technology Limited’.

Founded in 2007 by IIT Bombay graduates — Ankit Mehta, Ashish Bhat, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi, and Amardeep Singh, ideaForge claims to have 15 years of R&D experience and more than 20 patents under its belt. 

It has clients such as the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force, BSF, NSG, CRPF, Adani, Larsen & Toubro, Indian Oil, and Indian Railways in its portfolio. 

In April last year, ideaForge raised $20 Mn in a Series B round led by private equity firm Florintree. The funding round also saw participation from other existing investors such as Celesta, Infosys, Qualcomm, Infina, along with the Exim Bank of India. The startup has raised $38.4 Mn in funding till date.

ideaForge’s decision to file DRHP comes at a time when many new-age Indian tech startups have deferred their IPO plans due to the volatility in the market and the sharp decline in the share prices of their listed peers. However, Pune-based drone startup DroneAcharya was listed at a premium of about 89% on the BSE SME platform in December 2022.

Over the past couple of years, the government has introduced a slew of schemes to scale drone manufacturing in the country. It has also launched a PLI scheme to boost the drone industry in India. ideaForge was also amongst the drone companies shortlisted as beneficiaries under the PLI scheme.

The liberalistion of Drone Rules 2021 also gave a boost to the drone startups. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Indian drone industry is expected to achieve a turnover between INR 12,000 Cr and 15,000 Cr by 2026. The government is aiming to make India a global drone hub by 2030.

Garuda Aerospace, Dhaksha Unmanned Systems, and Aarav Unmanned Systems are among the other major drone startups in the country.