Skylark Labs and ideaForge Announce $35M Multi-Year Drone Deal

U.S.-based artificial intelligence company Skylark Labs has signed a $35 million, five-year enterprise software licensing agreement with ideaForge Technology Limited, India’s market-leading drone manufacturer. The partnership significantly expands their collaboration, first announced in May 2024, and cements both companies at the forefront of a global drone market projected to reach $4.8 billion by 2030.

Next-Gen AI for the World’s Largest Drone Ecosystem

Under this agreement, Skylark Labs will integrate its real-time detection, tracking, and recognition software across ideaForge’s extensively deployed drone fleet in both commercial and defense environments. This marks a milestone for Skylark Labs, transforming its adaptive, self-learning AI from a cutting-edge innovation into the core operating system of one of the world’s fastest-growing drone networks.

Complementary Strengths Drive Innovation

The deal leverages Skylark’s brain-inspired hybrid AI architecture, which allows drones to learn on-device, adapt instantly to new scenarios, and dramatically reduce false positives. Combined with ideaForge’s proven, high-endurance UAV platforms—holding nearly 50% of India’s market share—the two companies aim to create the world’s largest AI-native drone ecosystem.

Tackling Global Challenges Across Industries

From defense and border security to agriculture, infrastructure, and disaster response, the integrated AI-powered drones will tackle critical global challenges. In agriculture, they will enable precision farming with real-time crop analytics; in infrastructure, they will automate inspections of roads, pipelines, and railways, reducing costs while improving safety. For public safety and disaster management, the drones will deliver rapid threat detection and situational awareness to first responders.

Skylark Labs and ideaForge sign a $35M, five-year partnership agreement to scale AI-powered drone operations

Strategic Global Advantage

For Skylark Labs, this deal provides a launchpad into one of the world’s fastest-growing drone markets, validating its self-learning AI in real-world conditions. ForideaForge, integrating adaptive AI elevates its global competitiveness, turning drones into platforms that evolve continuously in the field.

Founded in 2021 in California’s Bay Area, Skylark Labs builds on-edge self-learning AI inspired by the brain’s cortices, creating “digital lifeforms” to perform dangerous tasks. Its product portfolio spans AI towers, vehicles, cameras, and drones integrated with its proprietary Kepler™ monitoring platform.

ideaForge Technology Limited is India’s pioneer in unmanned aircraft systems, with the country’s largest UAV deployment and over 7,25,000 successful flights. Ranked third globally among dual-use drone manufacturers, ideaForge operates R&D and manufacturing hubs across India and the U.S.

By merging U.S. innovation with India’s deployment power, Skylark Labs and ideaForge are building not just drones but an intelligent ecosystem poised to reshape industries worldwide.