Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor’s investments in a small drone start-up have proved to be intelligent moves as the two stars have doubled their investments. The Pune headquartered drone start-up, DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations, had received a phenomenal response from investors as the IPO clocked in oversubscription of 262 times. The retail portion was subscribed over 330 times!
In the pre-IPO fundraising round earlier this year, Aamir Khan bought 46,600 shares of DroneAcharya AI worth approximately Rs. 25 lakh. Ranbir Kapoor invested around Rs. 20 lakh to buy 37,200 shares. The buying price for all pre-IPO investors was Rs. 53.59 per share.
DroneAcharya AI was one of the first private players to receive a DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) certified RPTO (Remote Pilot Training Organisation) licence in 2022. The company has trained more than 200 drone pilots since March this year. The Drone as a Service (DaaS) player also carries out drone surveys and inspections in domains like agriculture, mining, smart cities, water resources, power lines and law and order.
In Q1 FY 22-23, the company’s revenues stood at Rs. 3.08 crore, and net profit at Rs. 70 lakh. Around 60% of the revenues came from training, 30% from services, and 10% from selling drones. The company now plans to enter the manufacture of customised 100% indigenous drones and to offer land and underwater surveying services.