IndiGo Ventures raises Rs 450 cr; invests in startup Jeh Aerospace

Economic Times

3 days ago

IndiGo Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of domestic carrier IndiGo, on Monday announced the first close of its maiden fund at Rs 450 crore.
ADVERTISEMENT Besides, the company also announced the first investment in Hyderabad-based aerospace startup Jeh Aerospace, without disclosing the amount.
Jeh will deploy the investment to scale its advanced digital manufacturing infrastructure, enhance its AI-driven production optimization and deep supply chain integration platforms, and attract engineering and production talent, it said.
Launched in August last year with approval from SEBI to raise Rs 600 crore, IndiGo Ventures is focused on investing in early-stage startups driving innovation in aviation and allied sectors. The fund targets companies at the pre-Series A to Series B stages, with an emphasis on long-term strategic alignment.
This first close and investment (in Jeh Aerospace) marks a significant step in IndiGo's broader innovation agenda' combining operational expertise with capital to empower entrepreneurs solving critical challenges in aerospace and related domains, it said.
ADVERTISEMENT Founded by industry veterans Vishal Sanghavi and Venkatesh Mudragalla - alumni of Tata's aerospace joint ventures with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Sikorsky - Jeh Aerospace combines deep sectoral expertise with sharp operational execution. Within its first year of operations, Jeh Aerospace has scaled to a 100-member team of specialized engineers and technicians, delivered 100,000 flight-critical aeroengine components and precision tools meeting AS9100 standards, and secured USD100 million in long-term contracts with global aerospace companies, IndiGo Ventures said.
ADVERTISEMENT "By combining our technical expertise and global footprint, this partnership (with Jeh Aerospace) will propel use of next-generation technology in the aerospace and aviation sector. This investment also strengthens the Indo-US aerospace ties, advances make-in-India and accelerates innovation, contributing to realising India's potential to become a global aerospace and aviation hub," Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer at IndiGo. Despite India being one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets, the country is still a small player in the global aerospace manufacturing industry, highlighting a significant gap in domestic manufacturing capacity, it stated.
"At Jeh Aerospace, we are forging a future-ready aerospace ecosystem by leveraging India's exceptional talent, advanced manufacturing, and AI-driven digital platforms. This investment empowers us to scale production capacity to meet growing demand from our global customers, ensuring flawless, on-time delivery of high-precision components," said Vishal R. Sanghavi, Co-founder and CEO, Jeh Aerospace.