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It says, intelligence wins wars, not brute force. The saying reaffirms the undeniable role played by defence technology ventures like Tonbo Imaging in using intelligence inputs for securing precision with the use of advanced technology.

The role of defence tech in India’s military prowess became the focal point after Operation Sindoor. The four days of retaliation from May 7 by the Indian defence forces on terror hideouts in Pakistan until the ceasefire on May 10 showed how defence tech helped zero in on the targets while minimising the collateral damage.

Sacrifices of soldiers on the battlefield are revered as the ultimate acts of valour. But, be it a soldier or a civilian, the loss of every single life weighs too heavy on the nation. There comes the dire need to minimise casualties. At least five soldiers and 15 civilians were killed in Pakistani air strikes on Indian soil during the war that followed the murder of 26 innocent civilians in Pahalgam by Pakistan-based terrorists on April 22.

India averted a deeper setback in the war by using a smarter, more strategic approach with intelligence, technology, and precision as central to defending the nation as well as preserving lives.

Arvind Lakshmikumar imagined this evolution in warfare when he set up Tonbo Imaging in 2012. “The mission is to help countries fight battles with intelligence and minimise the loss of lives and collateral damage to assets,” said the CEO of the IPO-bound defence tech startup.

India maintained that it ensured the safety of both military and civilian infrastructure across the border. While the multilayered air defence architecture and high-tech defence capabilities, such as counter-drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helped it thwart airborne Pakistani attacks, defence tech startups like Tonbo Imaging provided crucial intelligence inputs for precision strikes on terror camps.

The startup has been providing a range of defence systems, including thermal imaging kits for air defence guns like Zu-23 and more. Be it during the Uri surgical strike or Operation Sindoor, Tonbo claims that its defence solutions helped the armed forces pull off the task at minimum cost in terms of casualties and collateral damage.

However, unlike most Indian defence tech companies, Tonbo did not initially start manufacturing in India for domestic use. It is one of the first few homegrown defence tech startups to start building from India for use in global markets.

Over the last 13 years, Tonbo has emerged as a leader in strategic defence technologies. It designs, builds, and deploys advanced imaging and sensor systems, among many other critical components to facilitate modern-day warfare. It counts the likes of NATO, US Navy SEALs, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and the defence ministry of Armenia as its customers.

Even as it sells its product beyond the Indian borders, the founder said that the company maintains a strict protocol where it doesn’t deal with geopolitically sensitive countries.

“When we sell to other countries, we undergo a SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies) approval process done by the Indian defence ministry. Besides, we ensure that the data captured from every sensor, whether in India or outside, is preserved in their respective geographies,” he said.

The government’s Make-in-India initiative has come as a shot in the arm for diving into deeptech innovation. Reducing the import of defence equipment and increasing the use of indigenous products on the battlefield have unlocked a flurry of orders. India’s defence production zoomed to a record INR 1.27 Lakh Cr in FY24, while in FY25.

The FY26 Budget added further momentum with defence and nearly 70% of it reserved for domestic procurement.

For Tonbo, India contributes 40% of the topline, while exports make up the rest. Its core revenue stood at close to INR 400 Cr in FY25, increasing 20% over the last year, with a profit of more than INR 70 Cr. The company did not share the exact financials for FY25. In FY24, its operating revenue jumped threefold to INR 428.2 Cr and the net profit surged 58 times to INR 68 Cr over the previous year, regulatory filings showed.

Riding on soaring demand from the government and armed with a strong order book, the by the end of this year.

A Dream Blooms Into A Defence Tech Giant

Lakshmikumar teamed up with Ankit Kumar and Cecilia D’Souza to found their defence tech startup in 2012, but the tale of Tonbo Imaging goes back almost another decade, when Lakshmikumar had set up his maiden venture, Serial Innovations, which worked in the UAV space.

The BITS-Pilani graduate left for his PhD at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in 2000, where he met top executives at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). That’s when the thought of building future technologies in imaging, computer vision, and robotics crossed his mind.

Lakshmikumar returned home in 2003 to head the Indian wing of the US-based Sarnoff Corporation, the research arm of Stanford Research Institute. But Sarnoff decided to wind up its India operations in 2006. Three years later, Lakshmikumar hired Sarnoff Corporation’s existing workforce and set up Serial Innovations in 2010. Both Kumar and D’Souza were employees at Sarnoff. They joined Lakshmikumar as cofounders.

Serial Innovations eventually took off as a full-fledged defence tech startup with the name Tonbo Imaging.

Between 2010 and 2012, when the founders were still refining their ideas and go-to-market strategy, they raised INR 2.2 Cr in seed funding from Mumbai Angels and Blume Venture founders Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath. It gave them some time to support a seven-member team as they kept toying with ideas. Tonbo Imaging needed time to find a sustainable business model and a strong USP.

“Finally, we doubled down on building autonomous technology for defence to minimise casualties,” Lakshmikumar said. “Our vision is to assist humans today, augment humans tomorrow, and essentially replace humans eventually, on the battlefields. And whatever is required to get there, we will be building all those technology components and end-products.”

Reaching For War Autonomy, Striking A Fiscal Balance

Use of technology to secure autonomy on the battlefield blipped on Tonbo’s radar when the founders realised India needed better armaments. But India has been the , reportedly accounting for 9.8% of the global imports between 2019 and 2023. Until very recently, all its high-tech defence products were sourced from Israel and Europe.

“This was disturbing,” Lakshmikumar said. “India had enough capital and opportunity to build its indigenous technology with the likes of DRDO existing in the country.”

The founders not only spotted the gap, they also noted how defence companies relied heavily on government orders. “We didn’t want grants from the DRDO. We wanted to build IPs independently and for global markets,” said the CEO, adding that Tonbo wanted private investors who could trust its technology building process and infuse patient capital.

A simple whiteboard discussion made way for raising $6 Mn in the Series A round from Artiman Ventures in 2012, giving an exit to Mumbai Angels. With that, the startup began building its core technology in defence.

“The idea was to be able to achieve autonomy, and for that, we needed better data, better communication, and better control.”

Night vision capabilities emerged as Tonbo began taking baby steps. Night vision enables soldiers to see even in the dark, and amid smoke and dust. The technology wasn’t new, but the imports were far too expensive. The founders believed that every soldier had to be equipped with a night vision capability. So, the cost of such products had to be brought down, which needed a change in core design.

Through the next four years, they tried to comprehend the technology, build prototypes, and work on multiple iterations to launch world-class night vision gear or thermal imagers. Around 2013, Tonbo sold a prototype to the US Navy SEALs.

That was the beginning. Tonbo’s next target was to build an entire tech stack for thermal weapon sights and a surveillance platform that could be fitted into a UAV.

In 2017, the startup got its $23 Mn Series B cheque from WRV Capital (now Celesta Capital), Qualcomm Ventures, and Edelweiss Private Equity. “Then we started building the products using that technology, or the eyes and brains of weapons and surveillance systems,” said the founder.

The need for a strategic partner was felt around 2021 after Tonbo started facing production and cash flow issues. Its revenue declined from INR 54.7 Cr in FY20 to INR 23.5 Cr in FY21, and dipped further to INR 20.8 Cr in FY22.

The company, however, managed to retain its profitability by trimming down expenses and following an asset-light model. Since Tonbo develops, designs, and builds all its technology and products in-house, the founder said, the costs come down majorly, compared to many peers who depend largely on imports. It also doesn’t own its manufacturing facilities and has products manufactured by companies such as Keynes Technology and Avalon Technologies.

By the time it was raising its next round of funds in 2023, Tonbo had started working with the Indian Army, along with several other partnerships in at least 25 countries.

A $10 Mn funding from the listed mission-critical electronics company HBL Engineering in 2023 gave the startup a major boost to go to the next stage of product development and manufacturing.

“When HBL invested, our business took off. Amid all the funding crunch and cash flow issues, this investment brought in the much-needed discipline at Tonbo. Besides manufacturing support, we also got a chance to learn from their challenges and mistakes to give shape to our startup where it stands today,” the founder said.

With an INR 1,000 Cr public float in its pipeline, Tonbo recently raised from Florintee Advisors and EXIM Bank at a post-money valuation of over INR 1,500 Cr ($175 Mn).

Autonomy On Warfront For World’s Fourth-Largest Military

The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War with Pakistan had snuffed out 3,800 Indians, making the deepest dent in India’s war history since Independence. The 1962 Chinese assault had killed 3,250, while 3,264 lives were lost in the 1965 war with Pakistan. The 1999 Kargil war had claimed more than 500 Indian soldiers. That was a glimpse of the cost India had to bear to secure its sovereignty and integrity.

“Our only target is to save lives on the warfront,” reiterated the Tonbo chief executive. “We are building technology that will make the wars more and more autonomous and put fewer lives in the line of fire.”

Starting with night vision gears, the company has expanded into making a range of products for air, water, and land. Its airborne gimbals, Hummingbird and Avenger Series, have multiple visible-light and infrared electro-optical sensors for helicopters as well as UAVs for enhanced surveillance capability in poor visibility. Its WolfPack system offers a multi-aperture and multispectral real-time panoramic imaging capability for land and marine surveillance.

Tonbo’s range of optronic solutions include ATLAS, VARUNA, Skeye, and ELPEOS-N. Spartan-R, featuring an integrated Laser Range Finder (LRF) and real-time ballistic calculation device, is widely used by the army in multi-mission thermal imaging sight detection in close combat.

Its other thermal weapon sight, Cobra, has an inbuilt wireless video interface that enables real-time video output, enhancing the safety of the soldiers. Its various helmet mounts also come with enhanced night vision capabilities.

With thousands of such thermal weapon sights in its product offering, this segment is the company’s biggest revenue generator. In fact, the electro-optical fire-control system in the Indian Army’s Arjun Mk 1A main battle tank is equipped with Tonbo’s Elpeos electro optic sight.

Tonbo’s offerings also include missile systems, where its edge AI capabilities can guide surgical precision of missiles and bombs, and see-through armour (STAR) solutions, which, together with WolfPack and head-mounted display, provide better situational awareness to armoured vehicles. Its range of pan/tilt units have championed securing precision for payloads like laser devices or antennas.

The Tonbo trio didn’t stop at hardware alone. They also developed HawkAI, an indigenously designed Computerised, Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence (C4I) system that integrates intelligence inputs on the battlefield with the hardware stack.

The AI software stack, available across mobile phones and tablets, at command control units, and inland and naval vehicles, integrates intelligence from multiple sources and distributes it to create a unified operational picture of the battlefield.

An Indian Deeptech Venture Builds A Global Playbook

When most Indian defence tech companies aspire to be suppliers to global giants like or , Tonbo Imaging chose to be India’s very own Lockheed Martin or Raytheon.

The startup always aimed to be an independent Indian defence company, owning its supply chain end-to-end and building IPs and products that are highly reliable for direct use by the armed forces around the world.

This is also the reason why Tonbo adopted the global-first strategy. The companies that had been building for the Indian defence use cases were working on specifications that were inferior to the kind of sophisticated products used by countries like the US, according to the founders. Tonbo set a benchmark for technology capabilities after selling its products to the US Navy SEALs and NATO.

Tonbo has so far deployed over 25,000 defence systems across 30 countries. It also customises the software used for labelling and data classification, depending on the specific warfare requirements and military platforms of each country.

While the startup did not disclose its current order volume, its competitors like Anduril and Shield AI, which are largely restricted to the US and Europe, have much higher revenues and order values. Anduril, which recently raised funding at a $30.5 Bn valuation, said it clocked almost and secured $1.5 Bn of contracts.

Tonbo’s topline is fed from three buckets. The first bucket has the armies of various countries where the startup provides its thermal weapon imagers, hand-held monoculars, hand-held targeting systems, and equipment for direct use by soldiers.

In the second bucket, Tonbo has a suite of products that can be integrated with other products. Its observation gimbal, for instance, is like a surveillance system that can be mounted on a high-altitude drone. The company provides the system to the likes of General Atomics. It also has a partnership with Bharat Dynamics to sell its missile seekers. In this segment, Tonbo has partnerships with top names like L&T, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace.

The third bucket comprises white-label, completely knocked down (CKD) components for defence product manufacturers. European gun maker Beretta, famed for its James Bond guns, is a Tonbo customer. It sources components of thermal weapon sights from the Indian startup to sell them under their brand name as Beretta Pistol Sights in the US.

Tonbo also licences its OEM subsystems, including video target tracking cards, video engines for cooled and uncooled thermal imaging sensors, and real-time AI processors, to the system integrators.

Although exports continue to remain a major focus for Tonbo, the founder said that as India’s requirements are growing, it would ramp up supply to the Indian armed forces. It is in talks with the Indian Navy to build the next set of capabilities in counter-drone space.

While Tonbo did not share its exact FY25 numbers or FY26 projections, more than 60% of its revenue came from exports last fiscal.

Its MCA filings showed that 50% of its products were sold overseas in FY24. In the same year, the startup bagged its biggest order so far, amounting to $55 Mn, from a European customer. It also won multiple NATO procurement orders during the year.

While building both hardware and software stacks in-house, Tonbo has so far obtained six patents, while four more are awaiting approval. “We hope to have 10 approved patents by the end of 2025,” Lakshmikumar said.

From Battlefront To Bourses And Beyond

Tonbo Imaging is in the process of filing its draft IPO papers with SEBI by August, Inc42 plans. While the founder did not disclose whether the public float will have both fresh issues and an offer-for-sale component, sources told Inc42 that Tonbo is looking to give exits and good returns to many of its long-term investors.

Lakshmikumar said the IPO would be an important step for the startup as it prepares to build its next set of technology and products. After investing all its past years in building autonomous defence equipment, Tonbo is now investing in building the end systems itself, but not the traditional weapons like guns or ammunition.

“New-age warfare to counter the advancing drone systems is not going to be ruled by guns or weapons. It will be Directed Energy Systems. So, we have started investing in building a directed energy weapon (DEW) platform, which is a high-power microwave (HPM) system,” he said.

Directed Energy Systems (DES) use focussed energy like lasers, microwaves, or particle beams, to achieve various tasks without relying on physical projectiles. DES sharpens the drone-combat capabilities to the defence forces.

Powered by advancing AI and robotics capabilities, drones are replacing humans on the battlefield. The global drone warfare market is expected to surpass from $20 Bn in 2023. The market for anti-drone devices such as radars and RF jammers, kinetic interceptors, and HPM systems, will consequently reach from $2.16 Bn.

The HPM systems emit electromagnetic energy across a wide range of radio and microwave frequencies to either permanently damage target drones or temporarily disrupt their paths. While HPM weapons have existed for ages, these are now being upgraded to counter the advanced drones and missiles. In India, for developing an HPM system as the country is yet to catch up in the game.

Tonbo is betting heavily on this gap. It has received a licence to develop the technology from CERN in Geneva. The company at the Aero India 2025 show in Bengaluru earlier this year. It is expected to be installed on a surface vessel of the Indian Navy.

The startup is also investing in jet-powered systems that are immune to electromagnetic interference and GPS jamming. “The kind of drones and other systems India uses are of low speed. We need jet-powered systems that can evade jamming and spoofing and function at a speed of 500-600 km per hour,” the founder said.

Tonbo is playing in an increasingly lucrative market that’s set to unlock almost a by 2033, fuelled by deepening geopolitical crises. This has also set the defence tech turf on the boil with an increasing number of players.

Most of Tonbo’s global peers such as Shield AI, Epirus, and Anduril, or legacy defence players like Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics, are augmenting their technology front. The competition intensifies as Tonbo’s new-age global peers sit on higher revenues and have many common customers.

Tonbo claims to have an advantage as it is not restricted by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and its ability to do free exports.

On the home front, it faces competition from the likes of Data Patterns, Tata Advanced Systems, Mahindra Defence Systems, and PSUs like BEL and HAL. “Our philosophy with respect to selling our products to the Indian customers is simple – buy the products because that’s the best one existing for that particular operation. It’s lives at stake; and don’t buy the products because they are Made In India or cheaper than many,” he said.

Tonbo’s public listing will be crucial in shaping its future and also building credibility for the defence tech ecosystem. With its long track record of building deeptech with patience and frugality from India, Tonbo Imaging hopes to set a precedent in the Indian defence market that’s well on course to reach , averaging a 5.60% growth led by deeptech startups.

[Edited By Kumar Chatterjee]

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