New Delhi: Venture Catalysts, early-stage investor and integrated incubator, has led a ₹3.5 crore pre-seed funding round in Paar Autonomy, a robotics startup developing advanced perception hardware and agentic AI for unmanned aerial, ground, and maritime vehicles.
These technologies are being designed for defence, policing, and industrial inspection applications.
Founded in 2024 by robotics engineer Vignesh Jayaraman, who previously headed product at one of India’s leading drone startups, Paar Autonomy is building multi-sensor, gyro-stabilised gimbal cameras that provide drones and rovers with enhanced vision.
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The hardware is integrated with proprietary AI models that enable autonomous systems to interpret complex environments, collaborate with human operators, and execute real-time decision-making.
Paar Autonomy: Market Focus and Technology Roadmap
The company’s first line of products will cater to the global defence market, where demand for perception and autonomy solutions in unmanned vehicles is valued at approximately $6 billion for drones alone, with ground and maritime robotics projected to add a further $4–5 billion by 2030.
Earlier, the startup secured angel investment from seasoned pioneers of the Indian drone industry. With the latest infusion of funds, Paar Autonomy plans to set up its first manufacturing line, deliver pilot units to defence and public-sector undertakings, and expand its talent pool in perception engineering, embedded AI, and business development.
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Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-Founder and MD of Venture Catalysts, said, “A sovereign nation’s security depends on the intelligence that protects its borders and infrastructure. Paar Autonomy is creating that intelligence at the edge by combining multi-sensor perception with decision-making AI. Its technology has strong dual-use potential, from detecting threats at the border to inspecting infrastructure such as bridges and pipelines cost-effectively and safely.”
Dr. Sharma added that the investment aligns with Venture Catalysts’ mission to support deep-tech founders addressing large, underserved markets, ensuring India builds global benchmarks in affordable, combat-ready autonomy.
Vignesh Jayaraman, Founder and CEO of Paar Autonomy, said, “Our aim is to push the frontier of unmanned systems’ perception and autonomy. This funding will help us commission our first manufacturing line, deploy pilot units, and attract top-tier talent. We are building solutions that address India’s strategic needs while also competing globally.”
As part of its roadmap, Paar Autonomy intends to collaborate with defence establishments, PSUs, and international OEMs. The company will supply turnkey gimballed payloads as well as licensable AI models capable of upgrading existing UAVs, UGVs, and USVs.
