Constelli Raises $20M Series A Led by General Catalyst

Key Takeaways

1. Hyderabad-based defence-tech startup Constelli has raised $20 million (approx. Rs 180 crore) in a Series A round led by Silicon Valley investor General Catalyst.
2. The round also saw participation from 360 One Asset Management and returning investor Pravega Ventures, which previously led the company’s $3 million pre-Series A in January 2025.​
3. Funds will be deployed toward R&D in next-generation electronic warfare and communication payloads for drones, ground systems, naval vessels, and satellites.​
4. India’s defence budget for FY 2026-27 stands at Rs 7.84 lakh crore, a 15% jump over the previous year, providing a strong policy tailwind for startups like Constelli.

Quick Recap

Defence technology startup Constelli has officially closed a $20 million Series A funding round led by General Catalyst, one of the most prominent venture capital firms globally. The Hyderabad-based company, which builds advanced signal processing solutions for aerospace and defence applications, confirmed the raise in a press release on February 26, 2026. The round marks a significant leap from the $3 million pre-Series A Constelli secured just over a year ago.

#Funding: Defence-tech startup Constelli raises $20 Mn led by General Catalyst

✍️ @Gyantap https://t.co/1mU7gE75pB

— Entrackr (@entrackr) February 27, 2026

Electronic Warfare Meets Venture Capital

Constelli, co-founded in 2017 by Satya Gopal Panigrahi (CEO) and Avinash Chenreddy (CTO), specializes in signal processing tools that support the design, development, and testing of radar, electronic warfare (EW), and communication systems. The company’s products serve India’s Ministry of Defence, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and defence contractors in South Korea, Australia, and Singapore.

The $20 million will go toward product R&D focused on next-generation EW and communication payloads designed for multiple platforms, including drones, ground systems, naval vessels, and satellites. Constelli also plans to set up dedicated infrastructure for rapid prototyping and early-stage production to accelerate deployment of field-ready systems.

General Catalyst’s Managing Director for India and MENA, Neeraj Arora, described Constelli as a company solving “the hardest signal processing problems India’s defense labs face” and called the startup essential to “India’s resilience” in AI-led defence technology. Notably, General Catalyst also led the largest defence-tech deal in India last year: the $100 million round for Noida-based drone maker Raphe mPhibr.

India’s Defence-Tech Gold Rush

The timing of this raise is no coincidence. India’s Union Budget for FY 2026-27 allocated a record Rs 7.84 lakh crore to the Ministry of Defence, a 15.3% increase over the previous year’s Rs 6.81 lakh crore. Capital expenditure within defence was pegged at Rs 2.19 lakh crore, up nearly 24%, with major procurement lined up for fighter jets, submarines, UAVs, and advanced platforms.

The broader ecosystem is heating up fast. According to Tracxn, Indian defence-tech startups attracted a record $247 million in funding in 2025, nearly double the $125 million raised in 2024. Cumulative funding in the sector has now crossed $711 million. Government initiatives such as Make in India, the iDEX programme, and revised Defence Acquisition Procedures have opened the doors for private players to supply advanced military technologies to the armed forces.

For Constelli, which has operated at the intersection of software-defined signal processing and hardware miniaturization, the opportunity lies in filling a critical capability gap: most Indian defence systems still rely on imported subsystems for electronic intelligence. Constelli’s CEO has noted that their prototypes in certain categories are among the smallest in the Indian market, benchmarked against international products including Israeli systems.

Competitive Landscape and Comparison

The Indian defence-tech startup ecosystem features several notable players alongside Constelli, though their core focus areas differ. Below is a comparison of Constelli against two similarly scaled competitors.

While Constelli leads in deep-tech signal processing and electronic warfare software, NRT has carved a strong position in swarm drone hardware with active Army contracts. Garuda Aerospace is the most commercially advanced of the three, with disclosed profitability (15% PAT margin in FY24) and a clear consumer-facing drone play. Constelli’s competitive edge lies in the software layer that underpins all modern defence platforms, a less crowded and higher-barrier space than drone manufacturing.

Bayelsa Watch’s Takeaway

I think this is a big deal, and here’s why. Constelli is not chasing the drone manufacturing hype that dominates Indian defence-tech headlines. Instead, it is building the foundational signal processing and electronic warfare software that drones, radars, and satellites need to actually function in contested environments.

In my experience covering this sector, the software-defined layer is where the real strategic moat exists, and General Catalyst clearly agrees, having now bet on both Raphe mPhibr (hardware) and Constelli (software) as twin pillars of India’s defence-tech stack. With $20 million in fresh capital, DRDO and MoD relationships already in place, and an export footprint across South Korea, Australia, and Singapore, I see this as a strongly bullish signal for Constelli’s trajectory.