Bangalore Defence Startup Showcases Unmanned Ground Vehicle

Edgeforce Solutions was co-founded in December 2020 not in Bangalore, but in Hyderabad, by two retired and decorated army officers, Colonel P Hani and Colonel (Dr) N Sriramesh. Their stated mission is to give India's military a "cutting-edge" advantage by developing indigenous, deep-tech solutions, a vision encapsulated in their tagline, "Bringing Deeptech to Defence Tech". The founders' direct operational experience is a key differentiator, allowing them to build products with a deep understanding of tactical pressures and real-world combat scenarios. The company, incubated at Hyderabad's T-Hub, has a product portfolio extending beyond the showcased Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV). They also develop AI-integrated Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) training simulators for complex combat environments and predictive maintenance systems for military platforms. Their UGV lineup includes models like the "ASTRO" (Autonomous Surveillance and Tracking Rover) and the "Predator MDX," a 6x6 vehicle with AI-driven autonomy and a modular payload system. Edgeforce has actively leveraged Indian government initiatives designed to foster defense innovation. The company received early backing from the Startup India Seed Fund and has won multiple grants through the iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) challenges and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's TIDE 2.0 scheme. This aligns with the broader national "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India) push, which aims to reduce dependency on foreign military hardware. The startup is part of a growing ecosystem of over 1,000 defense tech startups in India, a sector seeing a significant push in private participation and investment. This trend is fueled by government programs like iDEX, which has allocated over ₹700 crore to more than 300 startups, and policies that allow startups to license technologies from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at no cost.