iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology), India’s leading deep-tech incubator, hosted the Demo Day for the iCreate Drone Challenge (iDC), where 14 shortlisted startups presented their advanced drone prototypes and indigenous technologies to industry leaders, government representatives, defence experts, and investors.
iCreate Drone Challenge Demo Day Showcases 14 Homegrown Startups
iCreate hosted the Demo Day of the iCreate Drone Challenge (iDC), where 14 shortlisted startups showcased advanced drone prototypes and indigenous technologies to industry leaders, government representatives, defence experts and investors.
Launched in partnership with Startup India (DPIIT) under the Bharat Startup Grand Challenge initiative, iDC attracted more than 500 applications from 26 states and Union Territories, with strong participation from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
From Applications to Prototype Acceleration
Following a rigorous selection process, 14 startups were inducted into a 30-day Prototype Acceleration Programme at iCreate’s 40-acre campus in Ahmedabad.
The programme provided startups with access to state-of-the-art laboratories, prototyping facilities and expert mentorship from global leaders in aerodynamics, propulsion, autonomy and materials engineering.
The Prototype Acceleration Programme helped participating startups refine their technologies and advance their solutions towards pilot-ready applications.
Showcasing Indigenous Drone Technologies
The Demo Day featured a diverse range of drone and deep-tech solutions across autonomy, navigation, propulsion and defence applications.
Azper Science: Unmanned fleet autonomy
Drobots Tech: Autonomous payload deployment for logistics and disaster response
StelX Dynamics: GPS-denied navigation drones
Hypower Green Energy Technologies: Reversible fuel cell technology for harvesting atmospheric water vapour
Seven Rounds Defender: Anti-drone interception and terminal guidance systems
Verham Robotics: Hybrid UAV-UGV platforms for surveillance and search and rescue
Black Kite: Indigenous flight controller with 3D mapping and spatial reconstruction
The Demo Day brought together stakeholders from the startup, industry, government and defence ecosystem, creating opportunities for the participating startups to showcase their technologies and explore potential applications and partnerships.
The event was attended by representatives from organisations including ONGC Startup Fund, Rashtriya Raksha University, eInfochips, Union Bank of India, GVFL, India Accelerator and the Gujarat Power Research and Development Cell (GPRD).
Strengthening Indigenous Drone Innovation
The iCreate Drone Challenge focuses on advancing drone innovation in areas such as speed, payload, endurance and indigenous component development.
By supporting both complete drone systems and critical technologies, the initiative aims to strengthen India's domestic capabilities across the drone technology value chain.
The programme also supports India's vision of becoming a global hub for drone innovation and manufacturing.
From Advanced Prototypes to Pilot-Ready Solutions
The Demo Day marked an important milestone for the 14 startups that participated in the Prototype Acceleration Programme.
With access to iCreate's infrastructure, technical expertise and industry ecosystem, the startups progressed from advanced concepts towards pilot-ready drone technologies.
The iCreate Drone Challenge continues to enable homegrown innovators to build indigenous drone technologies for India and the world.
Enabling innovators to build reliable technology solutions for real-world challenges.
