Drone startup Amber Wings appoints Vinay M K as the CEO

Amber Wings has announced the appointment of Vinay M K as its Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant step as the company scales its drone operations across logistics, agriculture, and industrial sectors. The announcement was made on the company’s official LinkedIn page, where Vinay’s leadership was welcomed as pivotal to driving its next stage of commercial deployment.

Founded in 2019 and incubated at IIT Madras, Amber Wings operates under Ubifly Technologies, the same parent company as The ePlane Company. The firm is focused on building and deploying advanced drone platforms for applications in logistics, aerial imaging, precision agriculture, and emergency response.

Amber Wings has developed a portfolio of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) platforms and multirotor drones, under brand names such as ATVA‑1, Vihaa, Multi‑50, QuadCopter, e50, and e100.

One of its landmark achievements includes securing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Type Certification for the ATVA-1 hybrid cargo drone, making Amber Wings the first Indian company to obtain certification for a hybrid drone built for logistics. With a payload capacity of 2 kg and a range of around 60 km, the ATVA‑1 has been designed for commercial operations, including 24/7 and night-time delivery missions.

The company also received DGCA certification for its Vihaa agricultural drone, which has been deployed in states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The Vihaa drone offers significant advantages in precision farming — reducing pesticide use by up to 40 percent and improving application efficiency nearly sevenfold compared to manual spraying.

Amber Wings has also laid out plans for future models, including the ATVA-2, with payloads above 6 kg, and the Multi-50, designed for heavy-lift use cases. Its roadmap includes drones for imaging, emergency medical delivery, surveillance, and freight operations in Tier II and Tier III cities. A strong emphasis is being placed on indigenizing production and reducing reliance on imported drone parts, with the goal of achieving up to 40 percent cost savings through local sourcing.

The company has been steadily building a domestic ecosystem with a triple-mode communication system using RF, LTE, and satellite to enable beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, a key regulatory priority for scaling drone-based deliveries across India.

Amber Wings shares its roots with The ePlane Company, which is currently developing India’s first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Backed by $14 million in funding, The ePlane Company aims to roll out its air taxi prototype by 2025, targeting urban mobility and medical transport use cases by 2026.

Vinay’s appointment is expected to add new momentum to Amber Wings’ scale-up efforts. His leadership will focus on accelerating commercial deployment, securing regulatory approvals for expanded operations, and supporting integration with e-commerce, healthcare, and logistics networks. An IIT-Kanpur and IIM Bangalore graduate, Vinay has led three successful startup exits, and senior leadership roles in companies including Lytx, PathPartner and DryvAmigo.

With the drone sector in India gaining rapid policy support and infrastructure backing, Amber Wings is emerging as a key player in the country’s drone ecosystem. Its technological advancements, combined with recent regulatory wins, have positioned it to lead innovations in last-mile delivery, agriculture automation, and emergency response.

Vinay’s leadership comes at a time when the drone landscape in India is transitioning from pilots to full-scale operations. His appointment is being seen as a strategic move to align the company’s vision with the growing demand for indigenous, scalable drone solutions.

Vinay’s appointment as CEO marks a strategic milestone for Amber Wings as it gears up to scale drone operations across India. With regulatory approvals in place and a diverse fleet under development, the company is well-positioned to lead in agricultural, cargo, and surveillance applications. Its focus on local manufacturing, BVLOS capabilities, and integration with logistics networks aligns with India’s vision for a self-reliant drone ecosystem. As a sister company of The ePlane Company, Amber Wings is playing a key role in shaping the future of aerial mobility. Under Vinay’s leadership, the company is expected to accelerate innovation and nationwide deployment.