Rekise Marine Bags $9.7 Mn To Build Autonomous Underwater Vessels
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Marine robotics startup Rekise Marine has raised $9.7 Mn (₹92.5 Cr) in a seed funding round led by Accel and NKSquared, Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath’s investment firm.
The round also saw participation from angel investor Sameer Brij Verma, WestBridge Capital cofounder Sandeep Singhal, Industrial47, Singularity AMC, among others.
Founded in 2017 by naval architect Maitrai Maka and Rear Admiral Shekhar Mital (Retd), Rekise Marine develops autonomous surface and underwater vessels for defence and commercial maritime applications. It builds and integrates its vessels in-house, working with India’s premier shipyards, including Goa Shipyard Limited and GRSE Limited.
According to the cofounders, the key to building reliable autonomous maritime systems lies in designing the vessel, sensors and software as a single integrated platform. The startup said the funding will help it strengthen its team and accelerate the deployment of Jalkapi, its autonomous surface vessel.
Rekise Marine’s current portfolio includes autonomous surface vessels Jaldoot and Swadheen. Meanwhile, it is working on Jalkapi, which is an extra-large AUV that will measure about 11 metres in length and weighing around 20 tonnes, the platform is designed for missions lasting up to 45 days.
The startup said Jalkapi is among the largest and most advanced unmanned underwater platforms being developed in India. The fresh capital will help it complete the production and sea-trials for Jalkapi.
Besides, the startup also plans to fuel its engineering capabilities across robotics, AI/ML, embedded systems, systems integration, naval architecture and maritime operations while bolstering its team further. To note, its current team comprises engineers and operators who have previously worked at Siemens, Airbus, Intel and the Indian Navy.
The funding round comes at a time when India’s indigenous defence tech ecosystem, which comprises innovations in drones, munitions, naval architecture, among others, is seeing a significant growth spurt.
Propelled by increased demand, India’s defence market is set to grow 48% from $27 Bn in 2025 to $40 Bn by 2030, with nearly half of this, about $19 Bn, driven by new-age technologies.
The growth in the market opportunity is also supported by a strong regulatory push. Under this, programmes such as the Ministry of Defence’s iDEX and ADITI schemes offer grants ranging from ₹1.5 Cr for prototype development to ₹25 Cr for technologies catering to the armed forces’ requirements.
In addition, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) supports startups and MSMEs through its Technology Development Fund (TDF), which funds projects in areas such as robotics, autonomous systems and secure software.
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