Coratia raises $1.89M extension to fuel Indian Navy underwater robotics deal
What's the deal? Underwater robotics startup Coratia TechnologiesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised US$2.44M (roughly $1.89 million) in a Series A extension led by MGFDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Kavachh. The capital will fund its US$8.96M Indian Navy programme, research and development, and manufacturing.
What does Coratia do? Founded by Debendra Pradhan and Biswajit Swain, it builds remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and robotic systems for defence, industrial inspection, and critical infrastructure. Its JalaSimha platform is designed for operations at depths of up to 300m.
Why now? The round is a step-up from Coratia's US$2.31M pre-Series A in 2025, which MGF Kavachh also backed alongside Piper and SIDBIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The follow-on lands after the company signed a US$8.96M Indian Navy contract in September 2025 — described as the Navy's first large-scale induction of India-built underwater ROVs.
That contract covers supply and maintenance of indigenous systems for ship-hull cleaning, minor salvage operations, and inspection of submerged infrastructure.
What's the endgame? Coratia wants to raise indigenous component content and cut dependence on externally integrated solutions. The new capital goes toward the Navy programme, core robotics capabilities, and building manufacturing and deployment capacity.
“We are building a technology platform that can evolve with India's requirements,” said Pradhan, co-founder and chief executive officer. “Our focus is on miniaturising technology while advancing our systems' intelligence, capability and deployability across defence, infrastructure and industrial applications.”
The company's roots trace to 2014, when its founders competed in robotics contests as students at NIT Rourkela. There, Swain said, they spotted a gap in underwater inspection still reliant on human divers. “People are still using manual divers to carry out any kind of inspection work, and we all know how hazardous the underwater condition is,” he said.
The investor view: MGF Kavachh backed Coratia before the Navy order. “The Navy contract was a milestone we expected them to achieve, given the quality of work they were doing even before our first investment,” said Raj Sethia, founder and managing partner. “This round is about backing that same conviction, which has only grown stronger with time.”
The signal: The extension shows investors leaning into India's push for home-built defence technology, where a single government contract can anchor a deep-tech startup's trajectory. For Coratia, the money bridges a development company into a defence supplier at scale.
Read more: entrepreneur.economictimes.indiatimes.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
