Tata Elxsi has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sarla Aviation to collaborate on the development of Shunya, India’s first indigenous electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The partnership aims to accelerate the platform’s path to first flight within the next 18 to 24 months.

The agreement was signed on September 1, 2026, at Sarla Aviation’s newly inaugurated headquarters in Bengaluru. Manoj Raghavan, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Elxsi, and Adrian Schmidt, Co-Founder and CEO of Sarla Aviation, led the signing ceremony alongside Rakesh Gaonkar, Co-Founder and CTO of Sarla Aviation.

Scope of Collaboration

Tata Elxsi will provide engineering support across critical aerospace domains, including avionics, flight control systems, software integration, testing, verification, validation, and certification. Sarla Aviation will retain leadership over the design, development, and type certification of the Shunya platform.

The engagement also opens opportunities for Tata Elxsi to support sensor fusion-based navigation software, industrial and structural design, and airworthiness test support. This division of labor leverages Tata Elxsi’s expertise in flight-critical digital engineering and Sarla Aviation’s vision for urban air mobility.

Shunya Aircraft Specifications

Shunya is a six-seater plus one pilot aircraft designed for advanced air mobility operations. Key technical parameters include:

• Range: 300 km+ flight operations
• Configuration: Vertical take-off and landing capability combined with fixed-wing cruise efficiency
• Operational Model: Runway-independent operations with improved propulsion efficiency

The aircraft is currently in the development phase, with certification activities expected to follow the targeted first flight window.

Strategic Outlook

The partnership extends beyond passenger transport, with potential applications in logistics, air ambulance services, and defence-related sectors. For Tata Elxsi, Advanced Air Mobility represents a natural extension of its work in connected, autonomous, and electrified transportation systems.

Adrian Schmidt emphasized that building a new class of aircraft requires solving unprecedented engineering challenges. He noted that Tata Elxsi’s experience in complex aerospace systems provides critical capabilities to move Shunya from concept to reality. He added that the collaboration brings together teams that believe advanced air mobility can move from ambition to everyday infrastructure sooner than many think.

Manoj Raghavan stated that every major shift in transportation relies on engineering innovation and ecosystem readiness. He highlighted that initiatives like this allow Tata Elxsi to apply expertise built across aerospace, mobility, and digital technologies to entirely new aviation platforms.

Jayaraj Rajapandian, Head of Aerospace at Tata Elxsi, added that Shunya reflects the rapid evolution of aerospace innovation in India. As aircraft become increasingly fly-by-wire, electrified, and connected, new opportunities emerge to rethink how people, goods, and critical services move.

The disclosure was made in compliance with Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

Tata Elxsi Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) to collaborate on the development of next-generation healthcare solutions. The agreement, signed on July 27, 2026, in Thiruvananthapuram, establishes a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating medical technology development by combining SCTIMST's clinical research strengths with Tata Elxsi's advanced engineering and design capabilities. This collaboration creates a unified ecosystem for MedTech companies to develop, validate, and scale new products more efficiently, addressing evolving healthcare needs in India and global markets.

The MoU was signed in the presence of senior leaders from both organizations, including Dr. Sanjay Behari, Director of SCTIMST, and Manoj Raghavan, CEO & Managing Director of Tata Elxsi. The disclosure was made in compliance with Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, and published on the company's website. The partnership leverages SCTIMST's status as an Institution of National Importance under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, bringing together its Super Specialty Hospital, Biomedical Technology Wing, and Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies.

Strategic Collaboration Areas

The partnership focuses on integrating complementary strengths across healthcare, technology, and product development. SCTIMST contributes expertise in cardiovascular sciences, neurosciences, biotechnology, and clinical sciences, while Tata Elxsi provides capabilities in product engineering, design, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies. The collaboration targets key areas including diagnostics, medical imaging, digital health, biomedical engineering, and medical devices. Unlike traditional industry-academia engagements, this model creates an extended innovation environment that includes clinicians, specialist researchers, advanced laboratories, and prototyping infrastructure within a single collaborative ecosystem.

Sreevatsa Sahasranaman, Senior Vice President and Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Tata Elxsi, stated that healthcare innovation increasingly depends on closer collaboration between clinicians, scientists, and engineering teams. He noted that SCTIMST adds significant depth to the collaboration through its strong research and innovation capabilities, helping to bring India-led innovation to global healthcare markets. The MoU establishes a framework for joint research, academic engagement, technology development initiatives, and intellectual property creation through project-specific collaborations.

Partnership Significance

The partnership represents a structural shift in how Tata Elxsi approaches healthcare innovation, moving beyond service delivery to embedded R&D collaboration. By integrating directly with SCTIMST's clinical and research infrastructure, Tata Elxsi reduces the time-to-market for new medical technologies. This model allows MedTech customers to access biocompatibility, toxicology, and validation services within the same ecosystem where product engineering occurs. The focus on high-potential opportunities suggests a targeted approach to scaling specific therapeutic areas, potentially improving the efficiency of capital deployment in healthcare projects.