Defence electronics startup Sanlayan’s valuation jumps 4.5X in Series A round

Aerospace and defence startup Sanlayan Technologies recently announced its Rs 186 crore ($22 million) Series A round led by Jungle Ventures with the participation of Ashish Kacholia, Lashit Sanghvi, RBA Finance, Gemba Capital, Singularity Capital and others.

While the company disclosed only its lead investors, Entrackr’s analysis of regulatory filings uncovered details of the round’s split, shareholding structure aka cap table, and valuation.

According to regulatory filings sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), the board of Sanlayan Technologies allotted 9,077 Series A CCPS at an issue price of Rs 2,05,513 each to secure the aforementioned sum.

Jungle Ventures led the round with an investment of Rs 60 crore ($7 million), followed by Ashish Kacholia and RBA Finance, who invested Rs 32.5 crore ($3.8 million) each. Alchemy Capital’s co-founder Lashit Sanghvi and his wife Neha Sanghvi contributed Rs 12.5 crore each, while Alchemy Capital, Singularity Capital, Gemba Capital, Shastra VC, Capwise, Akash Prakash, and Tarunika Mehrotra covered the remaining amount.

According to Entrackr’s analysis, Sanlayan Technologies’ valuation has surged over 4.5X to Rs 567 crore ($66 million) in the Series A round from Rs 125 crore during its Rs 36 crore seed round.

According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Jungle Ventures holds the largest stake in the company at 23.3%. Prominent investors Ashish Kacholia and RBA Finance own 5.74% each, while co-founders Abhijit Kothawale, Rohan Gala, and Rahul Vamsidhar collectively retain 43.53% stake. The company has also created an ESOP pool of 6.52%, valued at around Rs 37 crore.

Founded in 2023 by former Zetwerk employees Abhijit Kothawale, Rohan Gala, and Rahul Vamsidhar, Sanlayan develops advanced electronic systems such as radar, electronic warfare, and avionics. Operating through a portfolio of tech companies, it follows an R&D-driven model with strategic partnerships in the aerospace and defence sector. It recently acquired a majority stake in 20-year-old Dexcel Electronics.

With its Series A round, Bengaluru-based Sanlayan joins the list of a clutch of early-stage startups where founders diluted over 40% stake. Fintech startup DPDzero and stock trading app Sahi saw founder dilution of around 45% and 40%, respectively, while semiconductor startup Netrasemi’s founders also gave up over 40% at Series A.