Arctus Aerospace has raised $2.6 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Version One Ventures and South Park Commons, with participation from gradCapital and notable angel investors including Balaji Srinivasan, Srinivas Narayan, early Ather Energy engineers, and leadership from Bounce Infinity and Boom Supersonic. The startup also took part in the South Park Commons Founder Fellowship earlier this year.
Based in Bengaluru, Arctus Aerospace is developing large unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) capable of flying at 45,000 feet, up to 24 hours, while carrying a 250 kg payload. The platform aims to deliver real-time geospatial intelligence at costs significantly lower than existing solutions.
The aircraft supports advanced sensing capabilities including SAR, hyperspectral, optical, EO, and IR imaging. Traditional aerial imaging services cost nearly $10,000 for 500 sq km, whereas Arctus claims its solution can deliver the same output for about $500 — opening up wider adoption across energy, infrastructure, climate monitoring, and security applications.
Arctus already operates aircraft flying above 10,000 feet, delivering centimetre-level geospatial accuracy. The startup has established a 25,000 sq ft manufacturing and testing facility where it builds its own aircraft and full-stack engineering capabilities.
With this fresh capital, the company is poised to scale development of its high-altitude intelligence platform and strengthen India’s capabilities in advanced aerospace and defense-tech innovation.
