NEW DELHI: IndiGo Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of India’s biggest budget airline, Wednesday announced the first close of its maiden fund at ₹450 crore. An undisclosed amount will be invested in Jeh Aerospace, one of the fastest growing aerospace startups focused on high- precision aerospace and defence manufacturing. IndiGoVentures was launched in Aug 2024 to raise ₹600 crore and invest in early-stage startups driving innovation in aviation and allied sectors. IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said: “At IndiGo, we are driven by a vision of connecting India to the world and making it a global aviation hub. Through IndiGo Ventures, we are excited to partner with Jeh Aerospace, a homegrown brand that shares our vision and spirit of strengthening the Indian aviation ecosystem. By combining our technical expertise and global footprint, this partnership will propel use of next-generation technology in the aerospace and aviation sector. This investment also strengthens the Indo-U.S. aerospace ties, advances make-in-India and accelerates innovation, contributing to realising India’s potential to become a global aerospace and aviation hub.”Jeh Aerospace co-founder & CEO Vishal R. Sanghavi said: “At Jeh Aerospace, we are forging a future-ready aerospace ecosystem by leveraging India’s exceptional talent, advanced manufacturing, and AI-driven digital platforms. This investment empowers us to scale production capacity to meet growing demand from our global customers, ensuring flawless, on-time delivery of high-precision components… thrilled to collaborate with IndiGo… to drive innovation and shape the future of aerospace together.”With a 100-member team of specialised engineers and technicians, Jeh Aerospace delivered a lakh flight-critical aero engine components and precision tools and secured $100 million in long-term contracts with global aerospace companies. This is IndiGo Ventures’ first investment in Jeh Aerospace, which has been founded by Vishal Sanghavi and Venkatesh Mudragalla — alumni of Tata’s aerospace joint ventures with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Sikorsky.
