Ankit Mehta’s journey from managing college projects at IIT-Bombay to helming ideaForge Technology, one of India’s top players in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market, and steering the business to a successful IPO worth INR 567 Cr, presents a compelling startup narrative. But this achievement was not the product of a quick rise; it was a long journey driven by years of R&D and innovation, perseverance and strategic growth.

Launched in 2007 by Mehta, Rahul Singh and Ashish Bhat, ideaForge has emerged as a leading manufacturer of high-performance UAVs or drones built for defence, internal security, disaster management, agriculture and enterprise applications.

Its product lineup includes drones for surveillance and mapping and industrial inspection models such as Switch, Netra V4 and the Q Series. These UAVs are well-known for their long endurance, high payload capacity and autonomous operations. Beyond hardware, the company offers end-to-end drone solutions, including training, drone-as-a-service (DaaS) and after-sales support.

Given the capital-intensive nature of the industry and the constant need for innovation to stay ahead in the dronetech ecosystem, ideaForge actively expanded its capabilities through fundraising and strategic acquisitions. Securing capital was a significant hurdle in a market not too familiar with hardware startups. However, the company persisted and raised $53.8 Mn across 16 rounds, attracting 55 high-profile backers. Among these were Qualcomm Ventures, Infosys and Florintree Capital Partners, and their collective funding bolstered the venture’s UAV research and drone manufacturing.

Interestingly, funding dollars did not flow in until ideaForge secured a major contract from the Indian Air Force in 2015. By 2017, it landed its first institutional funding, although industry experts were sceptical about its overdependence on government projects.

During his recent conversation with Inc42 as part of the ongoing series Griffin Dialogues, Mehta was quite candid about the funding challenges faced by ideaForge. “We did not get institutional funding for many years because investors were unfamiliar with this technology and hesitated to commit capital. We had to bootstrap and sustain the business on our own.”

Nevertheless, the founding team stuck to their vision to redefine drone usage at home and abroad, lead the global UAV market and deliver tailored solutions. The company developed products to meet critical needs and generate value, paving the path for long-term success.

By 2023, ideaForge was ready to take the next leap: An initial public offering. The company aimed to raise INR 567 Cr, with shares priced between INR 638 and INR 672. When the stock debuted on July 7, 2023, it soared to a bumper premium of 94% over the issue price, signalling strong investor confidence in the company’s future. The IPO was subscribed 106 times at close.

As Mehta dived deep into the ideaForge journey, he shared the leadership lessons, explained the unique challenges of building a hardware startup and detailed the pivotal moments of success.

Here are the edited excerpts.

Inc42: Let us start with the ideaForge IPO and the processes involved. When did you decide to go for a public listing? Was it tough to convince your investors?

Ankit Mehta: Even during the pandemic, the drone sector turned out to be exciting due to its significant potential. The liberalised policies introduced in 2021, combined with a surge in demand for contactless surveillance – particularly in areas like border security, law enforcement and disaster management – saw growing market recognition for the technology.

This shift led to significant improvements in our performance, and we began to envision the future of ideaForge, refining our product vision and identifying target markets. By 2021, it was clear that we would require more capital to fund our growth.

That was the driving force behind our IPO. Once we decided to raise capital, choosing the public market was a natural step. Our primary........

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