IAN Alpha Fund Leads $9M Round in Skye Air Mobility’s Drone Logistics Push

Ankit Kumar, Founder & CEO, Skye Air Mobility

• IAN Alpha Fund leads Series B investment round in Skye Air Mobility
• Funding of $9M is to fuel hyperlocal drone delivery expansion

IAN Group, the country’s single largest early-stage investment platform, has led the Series B investment round in Skye Air Mobility, a leading hyperlocal drone delivery platform, through IAN Alpha Fund, second in the series of IAN Group’s VC Funds. The round also saw participation from AVNM Ventures, Faad Capital, Bajaj Capital, and other prominent investors, underscoring strong market confidence in Skye Air's autonomous logistics capabilities and Physical AI Infrastructure.

IAN Alpha Fund invests in innovative startups and MSMEs solving real problems or those aligning with India’s strategic imperatives. This investment reflects its conviction in next-generation logistics infrastructure being built with deep-tech products.

India’s last-mile logistics market is currently estimated at $5.5 billion and projected to reach $10 billion by 2030. Drone-enabled delivery is expected to capture a meaningful share as delivery speed, efficiency, and sustainability become increasingly critical for e-commerce and quick commerce players.

Founded by Ankit Kumar, Skye Air Mobility is building one of India’s leading hyperlocal drone delivery networks. The company combines autonomous drones, intelligent airspace management, and ground-based delivery infrastructure to enable scalable and sustainable last-mile logistics. In just over 2 years of operations, the company has completed more than 3.6 million autonomous deliveries while eliminating over 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. This demonstrates how aerial logistics can complement traditional supply chains and significantly reduce delivery times in dense urban environments. Their drones are designed to carry payloads of up to 10 kilograms, enabling applications ranging from e-commerce deliveries and pharmaceuticals to industrial supply chains.

A key differentiator in Skye Air’s model is its network-driven delivery architecture, which integrates aerial drones with ground logistics through a hub-pod-walker system designed specifically for Indian urban environments. This hybrid approach recognizes that drones alone cannot solve last-mile delivery challenges but can dramatically improve efficiency when integrated with existing logistics systems This also ensures that there is no dramatic loss of jobs by leveraging technology, in this case, drones

Skye Air also focuses on high-volume e-commerce logistics, one of the most demanding segments in the supply chain ecosystem, which has helped stress-test its technology and operational capabilities. The company already works with multiple enterprise customers across e-commerce, quick commerce, healthcare, and supply chain sectors. Across these two sectors, they have a portfolio of marquee customers, including Blue Dart Express, Shiprocket, Flipkart, Frido, Tata 1MG, Zepto and others.

Ankit Kumar, Founder & CEO, Skye Air Mobility, said, “When we started Skye Air, I was told that autonomous drone delivery in India was more than a decade away. We have completed 3.6 million deliveries and saved over 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ in just over two years, and we are just getting started. This fundraise marks our transition from proving the model to scaling the infrastructure. The capital will go toward deepening our Physical AI stack, connecting autonomous drones, intelligent airspace management through Skye UTM, and AI-powered ground robotics into a single seamless delivery chain. India has a rare opportunity not just to adopt the global playbook on drone logistics, but to write it for the world.”

Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said: “Last-mile logistics in India is not just a speed challenge, it is a structural one. The real unlock lies in the infrastructure that enables reliable, scalable autonomous aerial delivery. What stood out with Skye Air is that Ankit and the team recognised this early and built an integrated system combining airspace management, a hub-pod-walker network, and a Physical AI logistics stack. With over 3.5 million deliveries completed in two years, the model is already proving itself. India has a real opportunity to set the global benchmark for autonomous logistics infrastructure, and we are excited to back Skye Air in building that future.”

With the new funding, Skye Air plans to start expanding its operations beyond Delhi-NCR into cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, while further strengthening its technology stack across drone operations, airspace management, and autonomous logistics systems.

About Skye Air Mobility:

Skye Air Mobility is India's leading hyperlocal drone delivery platform, redefining last-mile logistics through autonomous aerial intelligence. In just two years of operations, the company has completed over 3.6 million autonomous deliveries while eliminating more than 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, demonstrating that speed and sustainability are not a trade-off.

At the heart of Skye Air's operations is Skye UTM, a proprietary AI-powered aerial traffic management platform that serves as the command-and-control backbone for complex urban delivery networks. Skye UTM enables safe, scalable, and coordinated drone operations across dynamic airspace making high-density, multi-route deployments not just possible, but reliable. Skye Air's flagship delivery drones are engineered to carry payloads of up to 10 kg, purpose-built for the demands of modern commerce from pharmaceuticals and e-commerce to food and industrial supply chains.

As India charts its course toward a drone-powered future, Skye Air Mobility stands at the forefront building the infrastructure, intelligence, and operational trust that will define what aerial logistics looks like at scale.

About IAN Alpha Fund:

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.

About IAN Group:
IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. IAN Group backs founders across domains and helps them scale their companies across India and beyond. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.