Bengaluru’s tech company positioning across aerospace-defence domain
Bengaluru-headquartered CoreEL Technologies India Private Limited says US$30 million raised in Series B funding is for R&D-driven business model focused on developing some of the country’s most innovative electronics products for fast-growing market segments https://www.commerce.gov.in/ .
The funding had a majority inflow from ValueQuest Scale Fund and was strongly supported by 360 One Asset, an early institutional backer of CoreEL, having led the company’s Series A round. It has further increased its stake by participating in the Series B round, underscoring its conviction in CoreEL’s scale, execution maturity and long-term growth trajectory.
“This funding will further accelerate the company’s growth journey, both in terms of revenue expansion and an enhanced commitment to R&D to ensure long-term, sustainable growth. The capital will be deployed across multiple initiatives, including scaling manufacturing capacity, strengthening research and development, advancing product engineering and supporting participation in large and complex aerospace and defence programmes in India and overseas,” said CoreEL said on 24 Dec.
CoreEL designs, develops and manufactures advanced electronic system and sub-system-level products for strategic applications in the Radar, Electronic Warfare, Avionics Milcom sectors and the company has delivered several critical high end electronic system level products and solutions to both strategic and commercial set of customers. CoreEL customers include DRDO, Defence Public Sector companies and MOD https://www.makeinindia.com/home/.
The funding follows CoreEL’s recent acquisition of the Aerospace and Defence Systems division of Lekha Wireless, which significantly expanded its communication systems portfolio. The acquisition added proven wireless communication technologies, indigenous intellectual property and specialised engineering talent, further strengthening CoreEL’s capabilities in the MILCOM domain. These additions complement CoreEL’s existing strengths in communication systems, airborne electronics, secure data links and SATCOM-enabled solutions https://www.nseindia.com/.
Commenting on the funding, Vishwanath Padur, Managing Director, CoreEL Technologies, said, “CoreEL has established itself as a world-class electronic systems and product development company, delivering complex, mission-critical solutions to our Armed Forces through DRDO and defence PSUs. We continue to develop some of the most advanced electronic systems for strategic aerospace and defence programs. This Series B funding reflects strong investor confidence in our long-term strategy, engineering depth and execution capability.”
Pushkar Jauhari, Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at Value Quest, added, “CoreEL’s strong positioning across aerospace and defence domain with its proven technological capabilities and its focus on indigenous development, aligns well with objective of investing into innovation driven strong technology companies strengthening India’s aerospace and defence sector with long term investment support and collaboration. Our investment in CoreEL Technologies reflects our strong conviction in CoreEL’s proven execution capability, engineering & leadership depth and its ability to scale up and contribute meaningfully to indigenization initiatives https://www.bseindia.com/.”
Umesh Agrawal, Fund Manager, 360 ONE Asset and Nominee Director on Board of CoreEL, shared, “CoreEL has built strong capabilities in electronic systems development for aerospace and defence, supported by a clear strategic vision and an experienced management team. We were the first institutional investor to back the team’s vision, and this investment reflects our conviction in the platform they are building. We are pleased to deepen our partnership with CoreEL as it scales its operations and enters the next phase of growth.”
Steer Advisors acted as the sole transaction advisor for the fundraise. Steer has been working in the Aerospace and Defence sector for over a decade now and has built a reputation as an enabling investment banker for companies seeking critical investment and collaboration https://sbi.com.in/.
Rajesh Doshi, Managing Director of Steer said, “We are pleased to have enabled this investment into CoreEL, complementing our earlier efforts on Series A. The emphasis CoreEL lays on innovation, processes, marketing and customer relationships has created a reputation for CoreEL as a dependable partner for its customers.”
Founded in 2010, ValueQuest Investment Advisors is a Mumbai-based investment management firm known for its disciplined, research-driven approach to public and private markets. With a focus on identifying quality businesses and partnering in their growth journeys, ValueQuest continues to be one of India’s most respected and trusted investment managers. 360 ONE Asset manages an overall listed market and alternates AUM of more than $10 billion across multiple asset classes. It is one of India’s largest alternative asset managers, with private market AUM of US$5 billion. Fiinews.com
