Zoho Founder Sridhar Vembu Backs Homegrown Drone Startup Yali Aerospace

Dinesh Baluraj, originally from Srinagar Cooperative Colony in Thanjavur, made a bold decision to leave his lucrative job abroad, where he worked for top companies, to fulfill his dream of enhancing India’s drone technology for medical purposes. His work overseas involved transporting emergency medicines via drones, a vision he aimed to bring to his homeland. Sacrificing a job with a salary of 1 million rupees, Dinesh returned to Thanjavur. In just two years, alongside his wife Anugraha Ganesan, he successfully designed an innovative drone.

Zoho Corporation, a prominent SaaS unicorn, recently announced its investment in Yali Aerospace, a Thanjavur-based drone startup. This decision came after Zoho’s Chairman, Sridhar Vembu, inspected and praised the startup’s work. “We are happy to announce our investment in Yali Aerospace, a drone startup based in Thanjavur led by the husband and wife team of Dinesh Baluraj and Anugraha,” Sridhar Vembu posted on X. He noted that Dinesh and Anugraha returned from the Netherlands to Thanjavur to start their venture, although the investment details were not disclosed.

Yali Aerospace, founded by Dinesh, Anugraha, and Mathuravani in 2022, specializes in drone solutions for medical, surveillance, and logistics needs globally. The company’s drones are user-friendly, designed for both civil and military applications. Their cutting-edge drones can carry payloads up to 7 kg over a range of 150 km at speeds of 125 km/h. Key features include battery swap capability, smart MedBox swap, and cloud video monitoring.

The company’s mission statement on their website reads, “Our mission is to deliver easy-to-use technology for civil and military use purposes. We build the future of aviation by using our cutting-edge technology and our BVLOS experience. We make our drones in India and we are passionate about creating a huge amount of employment opportunities for qualified engineers and scientists.”

In a LinkedIn post, Yali Aerospace expressed their excitement about the significant investment from Zoho Corporation, emphasizing how this will drive advancements in aerospace technology and healthcare logistics. The investment aims to further develop Yali’s innovative VTOL drones and autonomous docking stations, revolutionizing the transportation of critical medical supplies worldwide. The company extended their gratitude to Sridhar Vembu and Zoho for their unwavering support, marking this as a pivotal moment in their journey.

“We are not just imagining the future of healthcare transportation – we are building it,” the post read. Baluraj added, “Each delivery matters! We believe delivering even a single drop of blood could save a life.”