ideaForge: From Quadrotor Pioneers to IPO Success – Revolutionizing Aerial Robotics for Civil and Defense Sectors

CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with  Rahul Singh, Promoter, VP – Engineering and Whole Time Director, ideaForge Technology Ltd

Congratulations on the IPO. How did it occur to you and your co-founders to start a journey on aerial robotics?

The founding team launched the company back in 2007 after we all graduated from IIT-B. However, in 2004 we built and flew one of the first quadrotor drones in India for a competition at IIT-B. And five years after this, in 2009, ideaForge launched NETRA UAV, India’s first quadcopter drone, at DEFEXPO.

Back in those days, there was a prevailing excitement surrounding software development. However, the founding team of ideaForge had a distinct focus on hardware. We possessed a strong desire to create and build something tangible, and we were privileged enough to receive funding from IIT Bombay to pursue our dreams. As we delved into various projects during our college exploration, one idea that intrigued us was constructing a hovercraft out of the engines that people would want to scavenge from the old, discarded bikes. Ankit Mehta, CEO of ideaForge, happened to head an innovation cell at IIT Bombay, which offered funding for innovative ideas. Nonetheless, we realised that patenting a hovercraft concept might not be immediately feasible. This prompted us to seek a patentable idea, eventually leading us to conceptualise a quadrotor that was mechanically simpler and intrinsically stable in terms of control management.

And that’s when, in 2004, we decided to build our first prototype. Subsequently, we collaborated with IIT Bombay’s aerospace department to develop avionics and electronics for various radio-controlled aircraft and, eventually, drones. The team even participated in a competition alongside MIT US, securing a prominent position.

However, in 2008, when the devastating Mumbai attacks occurred, we resolved to harness this technology and create a product that could assist our armed forces during such crises. And in 2009, we launched India’s first fully autonomous drone technology, which is used for homeland security, defence, and civil purposes.

Give us a sense of what kind of drones you have manufactured.

ideaForge has one of the industry’s leading product portfolios targeted at civil and defence applications (dual use). It has a broad range of products with feature-based differentiation such as weight class (approximately 2-7 kg), endurance class (25-120 minutes flying time), take-off altitude range (up to 6,000 metres), communication range (approximately 2-15 km), payload types, etc. Beyond the UAVs, the company also undertakes a full integration of payloads, communication system and packaging. Our UAVs are easily portable as the packaging is designed in such a way that all the components can be carried as a backpack.

Our product portfolio includes surveillance and mapping UAVs such as SWITCH, Q4i, NETRA V4+, NETRA V4 PRO, NINJA, RYNO, and Q6 UAV, as well as Ground Control Station Software that controls and manages our UAVs and autopilot sub-system, and solutions that enable industry/application specific software that increases the value of our UAVs to the end customer. Our diverse product offering provides us with the necessary flexibility to meet the changing needs of diverse customers across industries.

Our drones are used for various applications such as, border surveillance, anti-terror operations, coastal security and surveillance, crime and traffic control, forest and wildlife, disaster management, mapping, surveying, construction and real estate, agriculture and many more.

How are these drones helping the civil and defense sector?

ideaForge UAVs serve the defence and civil sectors, primarily for surveillance, mapping, and surveying applications. Its customers include Indian defence forces and other customers comprising certain of the central armed police forces, state police departments, disaster management forces, forest departments, government and private entities, enterprise sectors, civil customers and many more. Further, ideaForge’s UAVs are deployed to address construction, infrastructure, retail, agriculture, and delivery applications.

The Indian Defense Forces have deployed ideaForge UAVs for various applications such surveillance of the border areas, anti-terrorist operations, disaster management, search and rescue operations, and others. Whereas the homeland security departments and other government authorities are using our UAVs for applications such as traffic monitoring, crime control, crowd management during various festivals or rallies, disaster management such as pandemic, fire, earthquake. Further our UAVs are also used for various mapping and land surveying operations. ideaForge is actively associated with the Indian Government’s world’s largest land digitising scheme, SVAMITVA Scheme. ideaForge UAVs help reduce the operations time and boost the efficiency and productivity of the operation.

Will this be a “Make in India” drone that can go global? What are your global plans? Who are your partners to collaborate with?

Yes, ideaForge is committed to designing, developing, and manufacturing indigenous drones to assist India in becoming Atmanirbhar Bharat. At the same time, we have expanded our international business. The company has established a presence in Oman, Bhutan, and Nigeria, by supplying small numbers of drones for our esteemed clients in these countries. And now ideaForge has begun operations in North America and established an office to serve worldwide consumers. We cater to security, surveillance, and mapping applications there. We have already gotten an incredible response after participating in prominent international drone expos. ideaForge has also teamed with prominent distributors and resellers like RMUS, Ingram Micro, Savex Technologies, and others to expand its global distribution system and support network.

Can you elaborate on technologies that you would have built grounds up to support the business.

ideaForge UAVs are equipped with industry leading specifications and capabilities, comparable to those of other established global players in the UAV industry. Our in-house design, development, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities have enabled the company to develop better products in response to changing customer demands, thereby improving customer experience with its products. ideaForge’s UAV platforms are designed with a ‘mission first’ approach, which means they are designed to deliver UAVs that meet its customers’ needs, can sustain a large number of flights reliably, and can be operated autonomously without the need for special skills or training.

ideaForge is one of the few original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with its own proprietary autopilot subsystem and ground control software in the world. The company has over 25 patents as a result of its ongoing product development and innovation efforts.

ideaForge doesn’t have a technical technology dependence on any other company either in India or outside India. All the critical component’s design and Intellectual Property rights are with ideaForge Technology. Hence, designing and manufacturing of ideaForge drones are not dependent on any other foreign company.

The company is working to create indigenous vertical integrations (vendors and collaborations) for an India-made UAV with critical subsystems Made in India. ideaForge has most of its components created and developed indigenously (in India). Further, all their ‘critical’ subsystems that directly relate to data security and flight efficacy are developed in-house or through validated Indian vendors.

ideaForge has significant achievements in critical technologies in house and is NDAA SEC848 compliant and has significantly filled the vacuum of increased demand created by the need of Chinese drones in the market. It has successfully manoeuvred through the global shortage of semiconductor market with its agility by exploring alternative technology.

Your lessons as an entrepreneur.

At ideaForge, we are constantly evolving our technology and business model, so failure is always viewed as a learning opportunity. We prioritise pushing limits of performance, reliability, and autonomy, which can be a challenging process, therefore openness to learn and persistence in the approach are essential.

Any entrepreneur will be successful if he surrounds himself with a strong team. As a result, we formed a team to extend our expertise, take ownership, and contribute to the growth and success of our technology and business strategy. Customer satisfaction is ultimately the key to success, and we at ideaForge try to achieve this through a continuous effort to understand customer requirements.

Ultimately every entrepreneurial journey is unique and may vary depending on specific circumstances and industry. However, continuously learning from your experiences, being open to feedback, and adapting these lessons to suit your own entrepreneurial path is the key to success. Being passionate about the purpose or vision helps get the best outcome.