IIMA Ventures and Jaivel Aerospace launch fund for defence, aerospace startups

IIMA Ventures has partnered with Jaivel Aerospace to launch an aerospace and defence acceleration fund aimed at backing early-stage startups in the sector.

The fund aims to back about 8-10 startups developing solutions in areas such as autonomy, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, and secure communication systems.

According to this partnership, each company will receive up to $400K in pre-seed or seed funding, along with access to mentorship, development facilities and Jaivel’s global manufacturing network.

IIMA Ventures has already worked within the deeptech space, aerospace and defence, and With this new fund, it intends to expand and double down on these portfolios. It focuses more on pre-seed and seed opportunities.

IIMA Ventures has previously supported startups such as Sagar Defence, ePlane, Ideaforge, and Nabhdrishti in the aerospace and defence domains. It also counts space-tech ventures such as Agnikul, PierSight, Galaxeye, and Bellatrix in its portfolio.

According to IIMA Ventures, the fund is not structured as an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and is being set up with balance sheet capital from both Jaivel Aerospace and IIMA Ventures. They plan to expand the fund’s size over time and are in talks with other corporates to join the initiative.

Founded in 2016 by Vipul Vachhani, Jaivel Aerospace focuses on enhancing the performance of advanced manufacturing programs through the design and creation of innovative processes, systems, and products. It serves major clients like Boeing and Rolls-Royce by providing solutions in intelligent manufacturing, product engineering, and design.