Zoho's Sridhar Vembu invests in homegrown drone startup Yali Aerospace

Global technology company Zoho Corp has invested in Tamil Nadu-based drone startup Yali Aerospace - which is engaged in medical supply delivery to hospitals in remote areas - a top official said on Tuesday.

Yali Aerospace, a Thanjavur-based drone startup set up in 2022 by Dinesh Baluraj and Anugraha, says its mission is "to deliver easy-to-use technology for civil and military use purposes". Zoho Corp CEO Sridhar Vembu said, "We are happy to announce our investment in Yali Aerospace, a drone startup based in Thanjavur led by the husband-and-wife team of Dinesh Baluraj and Anugraha. 

They have returned from the Netherlands to their hometown of Thanjavur to start this." "They (the couple) have built a fixed-wing drone with vertical take-off and landing, solving the problem of delivering medicines and organs to remote hospitals," Vembu said in a social media post. The drones can travel up to a range of 150 km with a payload of 7 kg and can hit a maximum speed of 155 km per hour, he said. 

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu government-backed StartupTN congratulated Yali Aerospace on securing the investment from Zoho Corp. "Huge congratulations to Yali Aerospace on receiving an investment from the SaaS unicorn Zoho Corporation. Yali Aerospace has made remarkable strides in revolutionising medical supply delivery across India. Their groundbreaking innovation, the Yali Network Bridge, ensures that critical medical supplies reach their destinations in under 20 minutes, even in the most remote areas," StartupTN said in a social media post. 

The Thanjavur-based startup's success story is a testament to their dedication and innovation, it added.