Rise of First Indian Defence Dragon: Big Bang Boom Solutions Raises Rs. 250 Crore with a 15x Return to Early Investors
Big Bang Boom Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (BBBS), India’s fastest-growing defense sector start-up, has secured over INR 250 Crores from investors as part of its latest round keeping it poised to takeoff into the big leagues. This funding comes on the back of the Defence Ministry signing over Rs. 200 Crores in a deal for Indigenous Anti-Drone Technology and its successful foray into the African continent. The company had already turned profitable in the previous financial and looks set to deliver on its expectations in the years ahead.
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Dr. Shivaraman Ramaswamy, Director and CTO, BBBS in the presence of Shri Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister (file photo)
The round was heavily oversubscribed and included marquee investors who led the round including the Mumbai Angels Network, the Vyom Family Office, the SBI Startup Branch Chennai, Asquare Investing and others which was facilitated by the team of Negen Wealth. Given heavy oversubscription, the firm also offered existing investors a chance to exit.
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Dr. Shivaraman Ramaswamy, Director and CTO, BBBS showcasing Anti-drone defence system to Hon’ble Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi (file photo)
“Building a defense business requires patient capital. But expecting investors to have a 25 year horizon is a pipe dream. We therefore looked at the problem through a different lens. We decided to rotate the cap table 8 times in 25 years giving investors timely exits and an option to stay on. This can help build a company that can be a legacy brand and add real value. It is better to underprice a round than leave little on the table,”Praveen Dwarakanath, CEO of BBBS said.
The multi iDEX winner, BBBS was part of the recently concluded Indian Ministry of Defence delegation to various countries in Africa including Kenya, Algeria, Tanzania and Mozambique. The impressive showcase of its products led to significant interest regarding export of its solutions which it will be fulfilling in the next couple of months. Having made a dent in the African market, BBBS will be entering the European market in the coming quarter.
“When we set out to build a product, we benchmark ourselves globally, allowing us to compete both in India and across the world and ensure longer product lifecycles. While R&D is in our DNA, and we will do what it takes to transform the landscape of Indian Defence, we are clear that the timeline to monetization must go hand in hand with adequate creation of core intellectual property. Credit is also due to the government, DDP’s flagship iDex initiative and the Indian Armed Forces, who have envisioned the policies that have enabled this transformative growth,”Dr. R. Shivaraman, CTO of BBBS said.
In Indian operations, BBBS’ Naval Research and Development Center (NRDC) in Chennai is undertaking a pivotal role in product development in close collaboration with the Indian Navy on various projects including Non-Lethal Naval Deterrence, AI enabled Fire detection and Suppression, High Expansion Fire Fighting Systems, AI enabled Maintenance Modules, etc. BBBS has also signed a strategic manufacturing partnership with renowned JCBL Group, to jointly expand into precision manufacturing.
BBBS core domains include Artificial Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Nanotechnology. Having a talent pool with expertise in such diverse fields helps them stay one step ahead of the rest.
While the talk in town is generally about startups who keep raising money and set out to become Unicorns, this is the rise of a different breed: of the Indian Dragon – a startup which is profitable and has returned capital to its shareholders.
About Big Bang Boom Solutions (BBBS)
Big Bang Boom Solutions is Indias fastest growing Startup in the Defence Sector. Founded by Dr. Shiva and Praveen Dwarakanath, serial entrepreneurs in Deep Tech, it aims to co-create intellectual property that can be used by Indian Armed forces to counter asymmetric emerging threats. The founders have a great network in the research space which helps them develop technology faster and more frugally that by anyone else.
In addition to anti drone system, the company has won Multiple iDex challenges announced by the Ministry of Defence and has successfully completed 3 of them in diverse fields including electronic warfare, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology.
The company has also managed to setup channels for sales to friendly foreign nations with the help of the Export Promotion Cell, DDP, MOD.
