Vecros: Drone Startup Ideas

Vecros is a Delhi-based robotics company that appeared on Shark Tank India Season 3 Episode-10. It introduced India's first AI spatial drone, Athera. Athera is designed for industries such as construction, oil and gas, railway disaster relief, and utilities. Athera has advanced features like GPS-denied navigation and 360-degree obstacle avoidance.

Company Details of Vecros Startup Ideas

Vecros Technologies Private Limited is a private limited company founded on October 12, 2018. The founders are Besta Prem Sai and Bestha Gangadevi. The headquarters are located in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India, with an additional office in New Delhi. The company operates in the information technology, electronic equipment, and instruments industry. Vecros Technologies has a team of 7 employees and has secured $250K in funding from 13 investors, with its latest funding round being a seed round. The authorized capital is ₹87.5 Lakh and paid-up capital is ₹40,92,480.

Ownership of Vecros Startup Ideas

Besta Prem Sai and Bestha Gangadevifounded Vecros. Aman Gupta invested ₹20 lakhs for 1% equity and ₹80 lakhs in debt at a ₹20 crores valuation.The company had received a 70% acquisition offer for ₹15 crores but declined it.

Business Model of Vecros Startup ideas

Drone as a Service: Vecros offers drone-based inspection services to industries like construction, oil and gas, and utilities. They charge a monthly subscription from the service takers.
Enterprise model: Vecros also offers drones, softwares to the customers who can do inspection by themselves and the founder trains them on how to use the technology.

Products and Services of Vecros Startup ideas

Athera has 8 cameras. Its computing power is 21 trillion operations per second. This drone itself senses its environment, is able to see 360° and can dodge obstacles. Athera has been launched recently. They are also planning to launch Kia and Jasper for confined spaces.

Business valuation of Vecros Startup ideas

Vecros presented their pitch in Shark tank India Episode 9 seeking an investment of ₹1 Cr for 2.5% equity at a valuation of ₹25 Cr.

• Aman Gupta: Aman was impressed by the passion of the founders and gave them an offer of ₹10 Lakh for 1% along with debt at 10% interest for 3 years.
• Vineeta Singh: She says that she does not have knowledge about B2B business, so she does not invest.
• Namita Thapar: She was concerned about the competition in this market. She says that the already established companies can also make similar technology and can easily compete with Vecros.
• Deepinder Goyal: He says the terminology the founders used like “Spatial AI drone” was not compatible with the demo as the drone crashed in the demo. He also said that the competition is high as 100 companies in the drone industry are bigger than Vecros.
• Anupam Mittal: He suggests the founders to do a partnership with the tech commercialisation organisation. He also says that the founders should focus on the technology right now instead of services setup.

The deal was settled with Aman at ₹10 Lakh for 1% equity and ₹80 Lakh debt at 10% interest for 3 years.

BizFoc analysis of Shark Decisions of Vecros Startup ideas

Vecros is a tech startup that develops autonomous drones, particularly the ATHERA, which can be used in construction, inspection, and disaster relief. The founders asked for ₹1 crore for 2.5% equity, but Aman Gupta invested ₹20 lakhs for 1% equity and ₹80 lakhs in debt at 10% for 3 years. The pitch started with a drone demo that ended in an accident, which caused insecurity among the sharks regarding the technology. The sharks were also concerned about the competition in this industry. The company has two revenue streams: selling drones and providing drone services.

Some key strengths and weaknesses of Vecros startup ideas:

Strengths:

• Innovative Technology: Vecros has developed an advanced autonomous drone, Athera, with features like GPS-denied navigation and 360-degree obstacle avoidance.
• Diverse Applications: Their drones can be used in various industries, such as construction, oil and gas, utilities, and disaster relief.
• Experienced Founders: Besta Prem Sai and Rajeshree Deotalu have expertise in robotics, AI, and software development.
• Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Vecros' drones can navigate without GPS, making them suitable for indoor environments too.

Weaknesses:

• High Valuation: The company's valuation ask was high compared to their current revenue and market traction.
• Competition: The drone industry is competitive, with established players and new entrants vying for market share. It was a major reason the sharks were not willing to invest.

Future of Vecros Startup ideas

The future of Vecros startup lies in the hands of the founders on how they are able to crack the advanced technology and sustain themselves in the market as the competition is intense with the already established brands and newcomers. The product Athera is of diverse use but it is costly. Hence the scalability of the product is crucial. Collaborations with various industries like construction, oil and gas, and disaster relief agencies could lead to more adoption and increased revenue. It is also expected that the drone market will grow in India. Thus Vecros needs to focus on product advancement to cater to diverse industries and applications.

Conclusion

Vecros, a drone tech startup, pitched their autonomous drones and drone-agnostic operating system to the sharks, seeking ₹1 Cr for 2.5% equity. Despite initial concerns, Aman Gupta invested ₹20 lakhs for 1% equity and ₹80 lakhs for 3 years at 10% interest in debt, seeing potential in their innovative technology. The sharks were doubtful about the technology due to the accident that occurred during the demo. Other sharks did not invest, showing concerns about marketability and the competition.

Quick Summary: