From Uri strikes and Operation Sindoor to Rs 852-crore IPO: How Arvind Lakshmikumar built defence tech company 'Tonbo Imaging India'

When India launched Operation Sindoor in May 2025, the military response to the Pahalgam terror attack brought renewed attention to the country's indigenous defence capabilities. Among the technologies deployed during the operation were thermal imaging and target-tracking systems developed by Bengaluru-based Tonbo Imaging, a company founded by Arvind Lakshmikumar. As Tonbo Imaging India Limited moves towards its initial public offering (IPO), its journey offers a glimpse into how expertise in imaging, robotics and computer vision evolved into a defence technology business serving Indian military agencies and overseas customers.

The defence technology company aims to raise Rs 852.18 crore through the public issue. The valuation of Tonbo Imaging India Limited is approximately Rs 4,010 crore at the upper end of its initial public offering (IPO) price band. Lakshmikumar's entrepreneurial journey began with an opportunity to take over an existing technology business. Before founding Tonbo Imaging, he led technology and operations in India for Sarnoff Corporation, a US-based research and technology company.

When Sarnoff decided to exit the Indian market in 2008, Lakshmikumar executed a management buyout, giving him access to an existing team and technological capabilities that could form the foundation of a new venture. Rather than build a conventional defence manufacturing business, the team focused on its expertise in imaging, robotics and computer vision to develop technologies that could assist, augment or replace human capabilities on the battlefield.

Lakshmikumar's earlier work on autonomous vehicles, robotics and computer vision, including participation in challenges organised by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), provided a technical foundation for the venture. The company subsequently developed electro-optic and electronic systems designed to help soldiers detect, identify and track targets in conditions where conventional vision is limited.

Tonbo's early growth was driven by demand for thermal imaging and night-vision equipment. By the early 2010s, its products were attracting attention in India and overseas, with its equipment finding use among security and defence organisations, including the Northern Command, National Security Guard (NSG), Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The company's systems also featured in the 2016 Uri surgical strikes, according to Lakshmikumar's account in an interview with Asianet.

He said the company learnt about the deployment only after the operation had concluded. "The night vision systems… a lot of the equipment came from Tonbo," he said, describing the company's contribution. The technology was deployed again during Operation Sindoor in May 2025. According to Lakshmikumar, Tonbo supplied thermal imaging and target-tracking systems for ZU-23 air-defence guns used to counter drones.

"These were night enablements of the ZU-23 guns, which essentially were used to shoot down drones. So, the night vision systems which went in the thermal imaging systems and the target tracking systems on the ZU-23 were ours. So they were used in both these skirmishes," he said. Tonbo is now working on a different challenge: countering the growing threat posed by drone swarms. Its Wave Strike system is a high-power microwave weapon designed to disable multiple drones by disrupting their electronic components.

Unlike systems that engage aerial threats individually, the technology is intended to target several drones simultaneously. In a separate interaction with CNBC-TV18, he outlined a potential opportunity involving 11 systems, with each system priced at around Rs 200 crore in India and $25 million in international markets. The company has received minimum order quantities and letters of intent from the Indian Navy and European customers.

Based on these estimates, the combined opportunity could be worth around Rs 2,500 crore. However, this represents a potential business opportunity rather than secured revenue. Alongside counter-drone technology, Tonbo sees room to expand its existing thermal weapon sights and tactical imaging products. Lakshmikumar told CNBC-TV18 that the company commands around 65% of the Indian thermal weapon sights market.

Tonbo Imaging designs and manufactures thermal imaging cores, weapon sights, handheld thermal binoculars, targeting systems, missile seekers, fire-control systems and missile-guidance systems. The company describes itself as India's largest manufacturer of thermal imaging systems for government and defence agencies by sales value. The F&S Report also identifies it as India's largest exporter of thermal imaging systems, accounting for 94% of India's thermal imaging exports by volume.

On the financial front, Tonbo Imaging reported a net loss of Rs 17.7 crore for the quarter ended June 2026, potentially reflecting, in part, higher raw material costs and an increase in finished-goods inventories. Revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 36 crore. The pressure continued into the June 2026 quarter, when the company reported revenue of Rs 36 crore and a net loss of Rs 17.7 crore. Higher raw material costs and an increase in finished-goods inventories may have contributed to the weaker quarterly performance.