Optiemus Infracom, a domestic wearables and telecom equipment manufacturer, announced plans to invest around Rs 140 crore in a drone-as-a-service model through its subsidiary, Optiemus Unmanned Systems (OUS). This investment aims to achieve a revenue target of Rs 600-900 crore by the end of 2025.
Founded in 2023 with an initial investment of Rs 25 crore, OUS recently unveiled a range of drones designed for agricultural and mapping applications. The company intends to adopt a service model for its drone business, training 6,000 pilots to manage a fleet of 5,000 drones by the end of 2025.
Ashok Kumar Gupta, Chairman of Optiemus Infracom, emphasized the unique business model based on extensive ground-level research that identified issues such as operational know-how and spare parts scarcity. He highlighted the significant potential of the drone business, particularly in agricultural and defense sectors, and expressed confidence in leveraging their expertise to offer cost-effective and efficient solutions.
OUS aims to achieve a minimum of 65% local value addition in its drones, with plans to increase this to 75% by the end of the current fiscal year. The company has already indigenized various components, including the power distribution board, anti-spark switch, flight controller, airframe, and motor.
