'No GPS, no pilot, no cloud': How an Indian drone startup using 'physical AI' reached 'Sam Altman-led' Y Combinator after Shark Tank India crash

Two years after a technical malfunction on national television nearly grounded their ambitions, the founders of the autonomous drone startup Vecros have resurfaced with a major global milestone. Prem Sai and Rajashree Deotalu, who faced a literal and metaphorical crash during their pitch on Shark Tank India, recently announced their selection into the Y Combinator Startup School India Event.

Founded by Prem Sai, an IIT Delhi alumnus from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajashree Rajesh Deotalu, a robotics enthusiast from NIT Nagpur, the company is aiming to prove that "Physical AI" is the next frontier of Indian innovation. Registered in Andhra Pradesh, Vecros is moving from the scrutiny of reality TV judges to the rigorous environment of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious accelerator, signaling a growing international interest in Indian-made "Physical AI."

A 'Crash' Course in Reality

Two years ago, during Shark Tank India Season 3, the founders faced every entrepreneur’s nightmare. While demonstrating Athera, their flagship autonomous spatial AI drone, the tech faltered under pressure. To showcase its obstacle avoidance, they invited the Sharks to interact with the drone. When Anupam Mittal approached the unit, it lost its orientation and crashed (3:12 - 4:26).


The founders were quick to explain that the AI was trained for a specific orientation, and the unexpected shift confused its spatial sensors. Despite the initial skepticism from the panel, the technical specs were undeniable. Athera boasts eight cameras and a processor capable of 21 trillion operations per second, designed specifically for GPS-denied environments like tunnels and disaster zones.

Aman Gupta's Deal

While many Sharks hesitated, Aman Gupta saw potential in the founders' dream and liked their innocence. After the founders revealed they had previously rejected a 15-crore acquisition offer for 70% of the company, Gupta stepped in.

The final deal struck on air was 20 lakh for 1% equity, matching a 20-crore valuation, with an additional 90 lakh as debt at 10% interest for three years. This pivot from a crash to a closed deal became one of the season's most memorable moments of redemption.

The Y Combinator Milestone

Fast forward to 2026, and the narrative has shifted from local screens to global incubators. Prem Sai recently took to LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) to announce that Vecros has been selected for the Y Combinator (YC) Startup School India Event.

According to Sai’s LinkedIn post, they are among the 2,000 builders selected from a massive pool of 25,000 applications.

His X account reflected a touch of wit regarding the achievement: "Thought YC was only for SaaS kids building chatbots... turns out they’re letting drone guys in now."

— besta_tweets (@besta_tweets)

Y Combinator is a premier startup accelerator that has birthed giants like Airbnb and Dropbox. Its Startup School is a selective program providing founders with elite mentorship and a global network. Selection often serves as a precursor to significant venture capital interest.

In a formal statement to The Economic Times, the founders of Vecros described their selection for Y Combinator Startup School as a global validation of "Physical AI," signaling a shift where artificial intelligence moves beyond software into machines that perceive and act in the real world.

Reflecting on their growth since their 2024 Shark Tank India appearance, they noted that the platform was a critical stepping stone that helped them move from a proof-of-concept to building "infrastructure-grade" autonomous systems. Since the show, the startup has transitioned from prototypes to enterprise-ready deployments in industrial and logistics sectors, while simultaneously expanding their autonomy stack and securing partnerships with global technology leaders.

Looking ahead, the team is focused on scaling their GPS-independent technology and deepening their autonomy capabilities, leveraging the YC network to gain insights as they prepare to expand their presence into international markets.

What Vecros is building

Vecros, registered in Andhra Pradesh, is developing autonomous spatial AI drones designed for high-risk, GPS-denied environments such as construction sites, railway inspections, bridge monitoring, and disaster relief operations. Their flagship product Athera uses eight cameras and a processor with 21 trillion operations per second computing power, enabling 360-degree sensing and obstacle avoidance, according to their pitch to the Sharks. They also have an upcoming product called Jasper, targeted at confined spaces. The company follows two business models: direct enterprise sales with training, and a “Drone-as-a-Service” subscription for fleet providers.