Kalam Labs

Kalam Labs is a Lucknow-based deep-tech defense startup founded by three BITS Pilani graduates — Ahmad Faraaz, Sashakt Tripathi, and Harshit Awasthi — building stratospheric aerial systems for military and surveillance applications. The company's core innovation is a patented hydrogen lighter-than-air (LTA) deployment system that launches UAVs from balloons to altitudes exceeding 100,000 feet, enabling stealth long-range missions at the edge of space. Its product line includes a Supersonic Near Space Combat Vehicle (Mach 2.5, 800 km strike range), a Stratospheric Long Endurance Airship (50,000+ ft persistent surveillance), and ruggedized high-altitude UAV systems tested across desert, mountain, and border terrain with the Indian armed forces. Backed by Y Combinator (S21), the company has a manufacturing facility in Lucknow with a 15-person aerospace team and has conducted what it claims to be India's highest UAV flight in its category at 116,000 feet.