Exclusive: MS Dhoni increases stake in drone maker Garuda Aerospace

Former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has increased his stake in drone manufacturing start-up Garuda Aerospace. With this, Dhoni's investment in Garuda--for which he has been the brand ambassador since 2022--has now increased to over ₹5 crore, said sources.

MS Dhoni, also a former captain of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings, had voluntarily invested an undisclosed amount in the Chennai-based drone maker in 2022 when he was roped in as the brand ambassador of Garuda. Dhoni is set to be part of the five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings again in IPL 2025, as the 43-year-old has been retained as an uncapped player.

''I am not in a position to comment on this due to non-disclosure commitments,'' Agnishwar Jayaprakash, founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace responded in an exclusive interview with Fortune India.

He said the company has so far sold over 2,500 agri-drones, which includes over 1,500 drones in the last 12 months. In FY24, Garuda had revenues of ₹109 crore with 14-15% profits and an EBITDA margin of 22.5%, as against revenues of ₹47 crore in FY23. In FY25, Garuda Aerospace is likely to post sales of ₹200-220 crore. Now it has an orderbook of over ₹150 crore (about 1,500-2,500 drones), executable within the next six months.

He says with policy support from the government, India's agri-drone market has grown to about ₹500-600 crore (which includes resales and spare parts) and has the potential to grow as a ₹25,000 crore market. Though there are 35-40 licensed agri-drone manufacturers, Garuda has a market share of about 35-40%. Garuda has three manufacturing facilities in Chennai, Prayagraj and Mysore capable of making 50-60 drones a day, and employs over 170 people.

He said Garuda is also planning to enter into defence drone manufacturing in a big way and has tied up with a couple of global leaders for a technology tie-up. Another plan is to set up drone cities and drone hubs and an aggregator business model in agri-drone business in partnership with an international player.

Garuda has tied up with global leaders like Thales, Lockheed Martin, Elbit Systems & Indian PSUs like HAL, BEML and TIDCO.