Founder Stack

Aerospace and defence startup Sanlayan Technologies saw a sharp jump in its revenue in FY26, while turning profitable during the year. The company’s operating revenue grew 5.6X year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 125 crore in FY26 from Rs 22 crore in FY25, according to its consolidated annual report reviewed byEntrackr. Founded in 2023 by former Zetwerk employees Abhijit Kothawale, Rohan Gala, and Rahul Vamsidhar, Sanlayan develops electronic systems for the aerospace and defence sectors, including radar, electronic warfare and avionics. The company operates through a portfolio of technology businesses. The sale of electronic systems was the company’s main source of revenue in FY26. Sanlayan also earned Rs 3 crore as other income, taking its total revenue to Rs 128 crore in FY26 from Rs 24 crore in FY25. Its customer base includes HAL, BEL, DRDO, the Indian Armed Forces and private defence system integrators, while its product portfolio spans radar, electronic warfare, avionics, power electronics and mission-critical embedded systems. According to the press release, Sanlayan Technologies ended FY26 with a Rs 286 crore order backlog and a confirmed opportunity pipeline of over Rs 2,000 crore, as several of its defence programmes moved from development to series production. The company recently secured a Rs 70+ crore production order for the Uttam AESA Radar programme, along with development orders for DRDO’s next-generation drone detection radar and electronic warfare systems for unmanned platforms. On the cost side, material costs rose nearly 4X to Rs 43.24 crore in FY26 from Rs 10.9 crore in FY25, accounting for around 43% of the company’s total expenditure. Employee benefit expenses also increased 4.4X to Rs 39.51 crore during the year. Overall, Sanlayan’s total expenditure stood at Rs 104 crore in FY26, compared with Rs 29 crore in FY25. The sharp growth in revenue helped the company turn profitable, with a profit of Rs 25 crore in FY26 against a loss of Rs 4 crore in FY25. Its ROCE stood at 8.04%, while its EBITDA margin improved to 20.54%. On a unit economics basis, Sanlayan spent Rs 0.83 to generate every rupee of operating revenue in FY26. According to the company, Sanlayan is also expanding its manufacturing and technology capabilities. It opened a 20,000 sq ft facility in Bengaluru’s Electronic City for its radar and electronic warfare business and added more than 100 engineers across systems engineering, RF and AI/ML. The company has also developed an anti-submarine warfare transmitter, which is currently undergoing trials and could open up an additional Rs 1,500 crore opportunity beyond its existing pipeline. The company’s growth came after it raisedRs 186 crore, or around $22 million, in a funding round led by Jungle Ventures last year. The round valued Sanlayan at Rs 567 crore, representing a 4.5X jump in valuation. According to the filing, Jungle Ventures is the largest shareholder in Sanlayan with a 23.3% stake. Investors Ashish Kacholia and