AVPL International (formerly AITMC Ventures) is a Gurugram-based Indian company that earns most revenue from drone training and skill development and also makes agricultural and other drones.

This Startup Deep Dive explains what AVPL International does, how it makes money, who backs it, how it compares with rivals and what could go wrong, using publicly available information. It is educational and not investment advice. Last updated: October 2026.

AVPL International in Brief

• What it is: AVPL International is an Indian Drone training and drones company based in Gurugram.
• Who it serves: businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers.
• Runs drone training and skill development; its website cites over 70 drone training centres across 16 states.
• Makes drones, including the VIRAJ 10-litre agricultural drone, with drone manufacturing starting in FY25.
• Offers drone-as-a-service and other agri solutions.
• Funding: Not disclosed in sources read.

AVPL International Quick Facts

Figures marked “reported” come from published reports and may differ between sources; “Not disclosed” means no reliable public figure was found.

What Is AVPL International?

AVPL International operates in the Drone training and drones space in India. Understanding a company like this starts with three questions: who is the customer, what painful problem is being solved, and why the solution is better than the alternatives. The sections below apply that lens to AVPL International.

• Runs drone training and skill development; its website cites over 70 drone training centres across 16 states.
• Makes drones, including the VIRAJ 10-litre agricultural drone, with drone manufacturing starting in FY25.
• Offers drone-as-a-service and other agri solutions.
• Also sells IT equipment (Rs 32.88 crore in FY26).

The Origin Story of AVPL International

Every company starts from a noticed gap and a team willing to commit to closing it. Strong origin stories are specific: a clear problem, a founding team with relevant skills, and an early product that real customers could test. Founder-market fit, meaning the team’s lived experience or technical depth in the domain, tends to predict how fast a young company learns.

• Founders: Preet Sandhuu, Deep Sisai.
• Founded in 2016 by Preet Sandhuu and Deep Sisai (one database spells the name Deep Sihag Sisai).
• Earlier operated as AITMC Ventures; Inc42 reports on the entity as AITMC.
• Pre-filed a DRHP for a Rs 200 crore IPO in October 2025.

Key Milestones and Challenges

No startup grows in a straight line. Early years usually involve slow adoption, product rewrites, hiring mistakes and funding gaps. In the Drone training and drones sector the common turning points are a first paying customer, a regulatory approval, a successful product demonstration or a funding round that lets the team invest ahead of demand. How a team responds to setbacks says more about resilience than any single headline.

• 2016: Company founded.
• December 2023: DRHP filed for an NSE Emerge IPO; it did not materialise.
• March 2023: IMK Capital invests at a Rs 500 crore valuation.
• January 2025: Merger with DroneAcharya recorded by one database; Inc42 reports the deal did not go through and was put on hold (reports differ).
• June 2025: Angel round with Arbaaz Khan.
• October 2025: Rs 200 crore IPO DRHP pre-filed.
• January 2026: SEBI approval for the IPO.

AVPL International Funding and Investors

Funding history shows how much outside confidence a company has attracted and how long it can operate before needing more capital. Figures below are reported and may differ between sources; valuation figures are estimates unless the company has confirmed them.

• March 2023: private equity investment by IMK Capital at a Rs 500 crore valuation.
• June 2025: angel round, Arbaaz Khan; Invstt angel group also listed as an investor.

How Does AVPL International Make Money? (Business Model)

A business model describes who pays, how often and how much it costs to serve them. Strong models show repeat usage, improving margins with scale and acquisition channels that do not depend only on paid spend. Weak models show one-off sales, rising costs and growth that stops when spending stops. For companies selling to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers, sales cycles and contract size matter as much as headline growth.

• Services (training) were Rs 70.48 crore of FY26 operating revenue; product sales Rs 36.28 crore, including Rs 3.40 crore from drones and parts.
• One IPO summary says 96.82 percent of FY26 revenue is vocational education; this differs from the services split above (reports differ).
• Also runs drone-as-a-service and agri-input retail.

The Numbers: AVPL International Financials

Financial figures show whether growth is turning into a self-sustaining business. Small and private companies often disclose little, so any number below is included only if it was found in public reporting.

• FY24: PAT margin about 19%.
• FY25: operating revenue Rs 84.5 crore (consolidated Rs 89 crore reported elsewhere, up 90%), net profit about Rs 14.1 crore.
• FY26: operating revenue Rs 106.8 crore (up 26.3%), net profit Rs 14.2 crore, EBITDA Rs 29.01 crore, net margin about 13.3%.
• Operating cash flow about minus Rs 5.8 crore in both FY24 and FY25; receivables about 49% of FY25 sales.

Market Opportunity for AVPL International

Market size is easy to exaggerate, so a useful approach separates the total market from the portion a company can realistically reach with its current product and distribution. The main forces behind demand in this sector are rising digital adoption, cloud and mobile penetration, growing enterprise technology spending, government digitisation programmes and a deep pool of engineering talent. Each of these widens the opportunity, but capital efficiency and execution decide who captures it.

• Benefits from India's drone skilling and agri-drone policy push; training is the main revenue driver.

Technology and Product at AVPL International

Technology is rarely the whole moat, but it drives speed, cost and customer experience. A practical way to assess it is to separate the capability the company controls from the commodity infrastructure it rents. In this sector the important factors are product quality, data and integration depth, security, scalability and the speed of shipping improvements.

• VIRAJ agricultural drone and drone-as-a-service offering.

Team and Culture at AVPL International

Teams are the most important and least measurable asset of a young company. Look at how complementary the founders’ skills are, how deep the second layer of leadership is, and how the company hires and retains specialists. Culture shows up in small repeated behaviours: how quickly bad news travels upward and whether commitments to customers are kept.

• Founded and led by Preet Sandhuu and Deep Sisai.

AVPL International Competitors: Competitive Landscape

A fair competitive analysis names direct rivals, adjacent players who could move into the space, and the customer’s default alternative. Durable advantages include proprietary data or technology, licences and approvals, brand trust, switching costs and cost leadership.

Risks and Challenges for AVPL International

• Negative operating cash flow and high receivables.
• Revenue concentrated in training.
• Earlier IPO attempt did not materialise.
• Merger status with DroneAcharya is unclear.
• Competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth.
• Funding risk: technology businesses often burn cash before reaching profit and depend on investor appetite.

Risk is not a reason to avoid a company; it is a reason to price it correctly and to monitor the right indicators over time. Regulation in this sector is shaped by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

AVPL International Growth Outlook: What to Watch

• IPO approved by SEBI in January 2026 but updated papers were not yet filed at the time of the report.
• Drone manufacturing is a small but growing share of revenue.
• Key indicators: recurring revenue, customer retention, gross margin, customer acquisition cost and runway.
• Funding position: Whether AVPL International can reach its next milestone before needing new capital.
• Regulation: Changes from data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

Industry Context: Where AVPL International Fits

India's technology startup ecosystem is one of the largest in the world, supported by cheap data, a large base of smartphone users, digital public infrastructure and a deep engineering talent pool. Companies now build for education, software, mobility, logistics, agriculture, defence, media and more, selling both to Indian customers and abroad.

Durable technology companies usually combine a clear customer problem with repeatable distribution and disciplined unit economics. Growth funded only by spending tends to fade, while products that customers keep using and paying for build compounding advantages.

For readers new to this field, a useful habit is to separate announcements from evidence. A plan, a partnership or a funding headline describes intent, while a delivered product, a paying customer or an audited financial statement describes results. Comparing the two over time shows how reliably a company turns promises into outcomes.

Bull Case and Bear Case for AVPL International

An investment thesis is a short, testable statement of why a company could become far more valuable, together with what evidence would prove it wrong. The points below are general to this sector and are not forecasts for AVPL International.

Bull case

• A large and growing base of digital users and businesses expands the addressable market.
• Recurring revenue and strong retention can compound growth.
• Selling into global markets widens the opportunity beyond India.

Bear case

• Heavy competition can compress pricing and margins.
• Dependence on external funding can force painful cost cuts.
• Regulation or platform changes can disrupt a product quickly.

Lessons Founders and Investors Can Take from AVPL International

Studying a company in the Drone training and drones space offers lessons that go beyond any single firm. The points below are general lessons for the sector and are not claims about AVPL International.

• Solving a clear, frequent customer problem matters more than adding features.
• Retention and repeat usage are better health signals than sign-ups.
• Disciplined spending extends runway and keeps options open when funding tightens.
• Distribution, not just product quality, decides who wins in crowded markets.
• Building trust through data protection and reliability is part of the product.

How to Evaluate AVPL International as a Startup

• Customer clarity: Can AVPL International name its customer and the problem it solves in one sentence?
• Evidence of demand: Look for repeat customers, signed contracts or measurable usage rather than announcements alone.
• Economics: Check whether margins improve as volume grows.
• Execution: Compare announced timelines with what has actually been delivered.
• Funding runway: Estimate how long current capital lasts at the present spending rate.
• Regulatory standing: Confirm required approvals are in place.
• Customer concentration: Check whether a few customers account for most of the revenue.
• Management depth: Look for experienced leaders beyond the founders and a stable core team.

The Takeaway

AVPL International is part of India’s growing Drone training and drones ecosystem. The useful lesson from studying it is the discipline of asking structured questions about customers, economics, advantage and resilience. Companies that answer them well, repeatedly and under pressure are the ones that endure. Readers should treat any single report, ranking or funding headline as one input among many, and should re-check key facts against recent company announcements. Because public information on young companies is often limited, patience in verifying claims is part of good analysis. Public sources can also describe the same company in different ways, so it is worth checking dates, definitions and whether a figure refers to revenue, total income or transaction value, and whether it covers one entity or a wider group, before drawing conclusions. Small differences in rounding, currency conversion or reporting periods can also change how a figure reads. Comparing the same figure across several recent reports helps show whether it is stable or has changed over time. This article is educational and is not investment advice.

• Clear customers and repeat demand matter more than announcements.
• Regulation and capital needs shape how fast a startup in this sector can grow.
• Track a few leading indicators over time rather than one headline metric.

AVPL International FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is AVPL International?

AVPL International (formerly AITMC Ventures) is a Gurugram-based Indian company that earns most revenue from drone training and skill development and also makes agricultural and other drones. It is profiled in the Startup Deep Dive series, which explains business model, funding, competitors and risks.

Who founded AVPL International?

AVPL International was founded by Preet Sandhuu, Deep Sisai, and the company reports a founding year of 2016.

How much funding has AVPL International raised?

Not disclosed in sources read. Funding figures are reported and may differ between sources, so readers should check the latest company announcements.

How does AVPL International make money?

AVPL International earns revenue from its Drone training and drones products and services sold to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers. The exact revenue mix is described in the business model section and is not fully disclosed publicly.

Who are the competitors of AVPL International?

Reported rivals include Drogo Drones, Avtrain, DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations. See the competitor comparison above for how they differ.

What are the main risks for AVPL International?

Main risks include competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth, funding and capital needs, competition and regulation by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules. This is educational content, not investment advice.

Related Startup Deep Dives: Sleepyhead — Reported $60 million growth round led by Norwest Venture Partners in October 2021 | DPDzero — DPDzero raised $7M Series A for AI-led debt collections. Browse the full Startup Deep Dive series.

Source

Source: Publicly available data, published reports, industry research, and other credible sources.