IndiGo Buys Rs 10 Crore Stake in eVTOL Startup Sarla Aviation Through IndiGo Ventures

IndiGo, India's largest carrier by market share, has acquired an equity stake worth Rs 10 crore in Bengaluru-based eVTOL startup Sarla Aviation. According to the Economic Times, the acquisition came through its venture capital arm, IndiGo Ventures, with the investment executed in January 2026.

The move marks IndiGo Ventures' first disclosed investment in the advanced air mobility segment. It positions India's dominant low-cost carrier as a strategic backer of domestic electric vertical take-off at a stage when Sarla Aviation is still in the pre-commercial phase. Sarla Aviation, founded in October 2023 by Adrian Schmidt, Rakesh Gaonkar, and Shivam Chauhan, all veterans of European eVTOL company Lilium, is developing a six-seater hybrid-electric flying taxi named Shunya, targeting a commercial launch in India by 2028.

What IndiGo Ventures Is and Why It Matters

IndiGo received SEBI's approval to float its venture capital arm, IndiGo Ventures, to invest in startups by the end of FY2024-25. The Rs 10 crore investment in Sarla Aviation is among the initial disbursed investments of the fund. In the case of an airline that operates over 2,000 flights every day and controls over 60 per cent of the domestic aviation market in India, an equity stake in an eVTOL company is a calculated move. The investment is not an operations commitment or a fleet order. It is a strategic financial investment that provides IndiGo with visibility into the eVTOL certification and commercial development pipeline at an early stage.

What Sarla Aviation Is Constructing

Sarla Aviation is designing a six-seater electric flying taxi. It is aimed at offering rides at costs competitive with ground ride-hailing services. As per the reports of Business Standard, the aircraft features a modular cabin design adaptable for passenger or cargo transport, including medical response configurations.

In January 2025, the company made its prototype, Shunya, available at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo in New Delhi. The hybrid-lift-and-cruise design of Sarla is aimed at a maximum payload of 680 kg. This figure, which the company says allows 35 per cent more passengers per flight as compared to similar Western eVTOL designs at much lower ticket prices. At the CII Partnership Summit 2025 in Visakhapatnam, Sarla Aviation and the Andhra Pradesh Airport Development Corporation signed an MOU to establish a giga-scale eVTOL manufacturing cluster named Sky Factory in Anantapur district. This was with a planned investment of 1300 crore rupees and a capacity to produce 1000 aircraft per year.

Industry Specialist Perspective

Pratik Agarwal, Principal of Accel - the lead investor in the Series A1 of Sarla Aviation - explained why the startup was unique

He frames Sarla as a cost-economics narrative, instead of a technology demonstration, so that the investment in IndiGo can be understood in this light. As per Pratik, this is an airline that is investing in a product that may eventually serve its airports.

The eVTOL Race of India: IndiGo is not alone

The investment in Sarla Aviation by IndiGo Ventures into the eVTOL arena is alongside a concurrent bet by its parent company. IndiGo has the largest shareholder (InterGlobe Enterprises), which also has a separate joint venture deal with the US-based Archer Aviation, a company whose FAA type certification work is in progress, and the company is already committed to 200 aircraft orders by United Airlines, according to Mint.

As per the IATA, predictions the global eVTOL market will grow to over $30 billion by 2030, with India being one of the most promising emerging markets due to its population density and lack of ground transport infrastructure in Tier-1 cities. Sarla's target of operating airport transfers in Bengaluru commercially by 2028, cutting the BLR Airport to Electronic City commute from 2.5 hours by road to under 20 minutes by air, is the specific use case IndiGo is now financially aligned with.