Defence tech startup Armory raises Rs 13 crore in round led by GrowX Ventures
The fundraise comes at a time when interest in indigenous defence manufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered security systems is growing, with India aiming to reduce import dependence and strengthen domestic capabilities.Founded in 2024 by Amardeep Singh, Armory develops indigenous counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) designed to detect, track, and neutralise rogue drones, a growing concern amid the rapid adoption of autonomous weapons and electronic warfare globally.The company said it will use the fresh capital to accelerate research and development (R&D), expand manufacturing capacity, and speed up deployment cycles for its products. The company's flagship product, SURGE, has already undergone field trials with multiple Indian Army regiments.
Armory's systems are powered by a proprietary AI-led defence operating system called Samaritan OS, designed to offer real-time adaptability and continuous learning, features previously absent from legacy systems.
'Drones are relatively newer threats. So, the products that have been built for this to counter this threat are still in early stages,' Singh, founder and CEO of Armory, told ET.He added that many existing systems only detect drones operating on standard frequencies, whereas recent conflicts have shown that adversaries increasingly use unconventional frequencies, making such systems ineffective.
Prior to founding Armory, Singh was part of the founding team at Ideaforge, the first Indian drone firm to go public. 'India's national security priorities are rapidly evolving, and Armory is one of the few startups addressing these changes at the pace of software,' Manish Gupta, general partner of GrowX Ventures. 'Their focus on building mission-critical, AI-led defence systems from the ground up, which is fully indigenous, modular, and field-proven, represents the kind of vision we believe India's defence-tech ecosystem needs.'
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