Pune: Sagar Defence Engineering Limited (SDE), an Indian maker of unmanned and autonomous defence systems, has raised ₹300 crore (about $33 million) from domestic institutional investors in a pre-IPO round, the company said.
The round values the firm at ₹20,000 crore (about $2.2 billion) before the new money. The company did not name the investors.
Capt Nikunj Parashar founded SDE in 2015 with his co-founders. The company began in a 150 sq ft workspace with limited resources.
Parashar, who has a background in the maritime sector, saw that unmanned and autonomous systems could make operations at sea more efficient and safer, and keep people out of high-risk situations.
According to the company, SDE has since grown into a vertically integrated firm covering research, design, engineering and manufacturing. It is now expanding its manufacturing and research facilities in Pune, Maharashtra.
It is also developing an Autonomous Systems Shipyard and a Maritime Systems Research Centre in Andhra Pradesh.
Parashar spoke about the company's journey at Swavlamban 2026, the Indian Navy’s fifth Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Seminar, held in New Delhi on October 26-27, 2026. The seminar's theme was “Strength & Power through Innovation and Indigenisation”.
It brought together the armed forces, startups, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), researchers and industry representatives.
On the IPO, Parashar said: “We have received SEBI’s final observations and have successfully concluded our pre-IPO fundraising round, raised ₹300 crore. At this stage, I am not in a position to comment further.”
A company needs the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) final observations on its draft offer document before it can launch a public issue.
The company said the fresh funds will go towards research and development, autonomous systems, advanced manufacturing and indigenous technology.
Defence technology firms need sustained spending on research, testing, manufacturing and operational validation before they can scale, and SDE’s round shows domestic institutions are willing to back that kind of business.
