In a recent conversation with Indian Startup Times, Jitendra Saini shared that building AquaAirX was never about chasing a startup trend. It began much earlier, with model aircraft, broken parts, long hours of experimentation, and an instinctive curiosity about how machines move through the world.

An aeromodeller and robotics enthusiast from a young age, Saini spent years building, breaking, fixing, and rebuilding systems simply for the joy of learning. That curiosity eventually found direction during his early exposure to a DRDO project, where he came face to face with the realities of maritime technology,and the uncomfortable gaps in how India monitors and secures its oceans.

“What struck me wasn’t just the technology,” he recalls, “but how vulnerable we are as a country when it comes to understanding what’s happening beneath the water.”

That realization became a turning point. Soon after graduating, Saini and his co-founder Gouthami TS made a decision, not to start a company, but to build something meaningful. AquaAirX emerged from that intent: a deep-tech venture focused on service robots that can operate seamlessly across air and water, redefining how maritime environments are observed, protected, and managed.

A Journey Rooted in Curiosity and Responsibility

Saini’s path into deep tech was shaped as much by personal experience as professional exposure. His family’s move from Rajasthan to Mumbai, driven by a desire for better education, placed him in an environment where curiosity was encouraged and resources were accessible.

From childhood, he was drawn to technology, not just using it, but understanding why things fail and how to make them better. That mindset carried into his work as a robotics enthusiast and later into defense-related projects, where the stakes were far higher.

“Deep-tech doesn’t feel like a leap when you’ve been building toward it all your life,” he says. “It demands patience, resilience, and belief,qualities you develop only by staying curious for a long time.”

Solving the Problem We Can’t See

At its core, AquaAirX addresses a critical blind spot: limited visibility and intelligence in underwater and air–water environments. These domains are central to national security, offshore infrastructure, energy systems, and climate resilience, yet continuous monitoring remains difficult, risky, and expensive.

Manual methods don’t scale and often place humans in hazardous conditions. As climate pressures rise and maritime activity increases, the cost of not knowing what’s happening underwater has become greater than the cost of deploying autonomous systems.

“That’s where service robots stop being optional,” Saini explains. “They become necessary infrastructure.”

The Hard Realities of Building Deep-Tech Hardware

The early days of AquaAirX were as humbling as they were ambitious. Building an amphibious drone, capable of flying and diving—quickly revealed a hard truth: deep-tech hardware needs capital to survive long enough to prove itself.

Without funding, progress would have been painfully slow. To sustain R&D, the team launched AEROGO, a parallel venture that generated revenue to support experimentation. This decision proved critical, enabling AquaAirX to secure early grants such as Elevate and NIDHI-Prayash, which funded its first working prototype.

That prototype opened doors. Using the same platform, the team proposed their concept to iDEX, where the Indian Navy saw potential. With that backing, AquaAirX went on to develop India’s first multi-mode autonomous system—an amphibious drone capable of transitioning seamlessly between air and underwater operations.

“The biggest challenge wasn’t engineering alone,” Saini reflects. “It was staying alive long enough to prove what was possible.”

What Truly Sets AquaAirX Apart

In a crowded robotics and clean-tech landscape, AquaAirX stands out for one reason: true air–water integration.

Most platforms are designed for either air or underwater use. AquaAirX builds systems that operate across both domains within a single mission, transitioning from GPS-enabled flight to fully autonomous, GPS-denied underwater operations.

Rather than retrofitting autonomy, the team co-designs everything, from propulsion and energy systems to structures and control software, as one unified system. This mission-driven approach enables better endurance, reliability, and cost efficiency, especially in harsh maritime environments.

Listening Before Selling

AquaAirX’s first customers were approached with curiosity, not sales decks. The team spent time with operators, engineers, and agencies working in real marine conditions, listening to their constraints and frustrations.

The feedback was direct. Customers didn’t want flashy features, they wanted systems that worked consistently, delivered reliable data, and survived harsh environments.

“That feedback changed everything,” Saini says. “It pulled us away from novelty and pushed us toward robustness.”

Trust Built Through Delivery

As a hardware and service-robotics company, AquaAirX has taken a straightforward approach to brand building: deliver first, talk later.

Pilots, demonstrations, and honest technical conversations became the foundation of trust. When something wasn’t ready, the team said so, and that transparency helped build long-term credibility.

Milestones That Mattered

Several milestones validated AquaAirX’s vision beyond the lab. Being selected as the only maritime-focused Indian startup under the IAI–Israel Neosphere program confirmed the global relevance of its approach.

An even bigger test came with its first international deployment, working with ConocoPhillips in Malaysia. Operating in a live offshore environment proved that AquaAirX’s systems could perform not just in theory, but in the real world.

Funding, Patience, and the Right Partners

AquaAirX has raised around $1.39 million in seed funding, a journey Saini describes as gradual and conviction-driven. While many investors were hesitant about hardware-heavy timelines, those who came onboard believed in execution over quick returns.

Strategic investors like Zerodha brought more than capital. They offered context, restraint, and long-term thinking,  qualities that matter deeply in nonlinear, engineering-led journeys.

“The biggest value is trust,” Saini notes. “It gives us the freedom to build correctly.”

Looking Ahead

Over the next 3–5 years, AquaAirX aims to become a trusted provider of autonomous systems across defense, energy, and infrastructure sectors, with a focus on persistent, real-world deployments rather than experimental showcases.

Technologically, the emphasis will be on deeper autonomy, longer endurance, and minimal human intervention. Globally, the company plans to expand through partnerships in key maritime regions like Asia-Pacific and the Middle East,building credibility one market at a time.

Advice to Deep-Tech Founders

For first-time hardware founders in India, Saini keeps it simple:

“Be patient. Hardware takes time.
Choose your co-founders carefully.
Respect constraints instead of fighting them.
And work on problems that still matter when progress feels slow.”

For AquaAirX, that philosophy continues to guide every flight, every dive, and every line of code beneath the surface.

Interview conducted by: Arushi Agarwal