Technology startup VFLYX India is planning to invest USD 3.5 million (about Rs 26 crore) over the next year in research and development and manufacturing drones.

The company will make tailor-made drones for surveillance and inspection, air cargo, surveying & mapping and agriculture work like spraying and seeding.

“We are planning to invest USD 3.5 million in VFLYX. A majority of the investment will be used in the research and development, manufacturing and testing of drones. We will deploy 26 Engineers and 18 partnered resources under the leadership of our chief technology officer Rohit Dey,” said Vishal Saurav, CEO and co-founder of VFLYX India and Xboom Utilities.

VFLYX will get most of the funds from internal accruals of e-commerce firm Xboom Utilities, which focuses on selling electronic gadgets only, Saurav said.

The startup has started operations from a 10,000 square foot facility based in Bengaluru.

“As per the current capacity, we can produce 1,000-1,200 customised drones per year. However, depending on the demand in the first year, we want to increase it by 3 times in 2 years and 5 times in 3years.

VFLYX India under XBOOM Utilities is a bootstrap company. However, we are planning to raise funds in the near future,” Saurav said.

The company also aims to acquire more than 50 per cent of the drone market share and create job opportunities for 500 people in the next 2 years in India, he added.

It also has plans to expand its footprint overseas to countries such as Dubai, the US, Singapore etc.