To create an official land registry, the drone must meet high standards, which ordinary aerial cameras do not require. Since the data obtained serves as the basis for documents that will be relied upon, the aircraft itself, its sensors, and its behavior in case of failure must undergo certification before the data is considered valid.
India established such requirements through the Drone Rules 2021, which introduced a type-certification procedure for unmanned aerial vehicles. The certificate is issued to a specific model, not a company, and it is this certificate that opens the path to government procurement.
The company operating under the name CBAI Technologies was founded in Hyderabad in September 2018. E Sandeep Reddy is the founder and CEO, while Siraj B and Vidhyasagar B are listed as co-founders and product leads. The company went through incubation at iTIC, the technology incubator of IIT Hyderabad.
Initially, the company's business had a different focus. According to its participation description in the incubator, it involved a demand-driven scout drone that delivered vaccines, medicines, and blood to people who could not quickly reach a hospital; this idea was formed during the pandemic. However, the actual business now focuses on manufacturing aerial vehicles for mapping and surveying.
CrystalBall manufactures its own aerial vehicles rather than reselling others. Three models are featured in Indian commercial catalogs: Model V for mapping and surveying, Model T for surveillance, and Model M for agricultural spraying. The company offers a comprehensive solution by combining hardware with its own data processing, which it calls a full cycle—from drone to information acquisition.
Model V is the one that has certification. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a type certificate for CBAI Technologies in accordance with the Drone Rules 2021, which is valid until suspended or revoked. Distributors list the price for this aircraft at 4.4 lakh rupees, with a flight time of 40 minutes, a 26-megapixel camera, and two recovery parachutes.
These technical specifications are taken from reseller lists, not from the CrystalBall website, which does not provide readable product details. Sellers refer to Model V as the first certified mapping drone in India, a claim the company itself has not published in this form.
CrystalBall informed its incubator that it possesses permissions from the Airports Authority of India, DGCA, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and Ministry of Home Affairs for beyond visual line of sight flights, and is an approved drone manufacturer in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The company sells its products to the government through the Government e-Marketplace, where a rotary surveillance model is listed under its name. Company databases referencing documents show revenue of approximately 4.9 crore rupees for the year ending March 2025, and a staff of 22 people as of March 2026.
The company's focus narrowed in its early years. According to Tracxn data, CrystalBall is currently developing products for the mining and aggregate industries—a market where operators require regular measurements of site volumes and quarry progress, and where survey accuracy is purchased.
No funding rounds have been publicly announced. Company databases record one round from an institutional investor without specifying the amount, and one classifies it as a grant rather than equity capital. Information regarding the size or terms of the deal is not recorded.
Information about clients is also not public. CrystalBall has not disclosed the names of mining operators or government departments purchasing its aerial vehicles, nor has it disclosed contract values, deployment numbers, or fleet size.
The company positions itself as a global business headquartered in California with offices in India. Its Indian entity is registered in Tarnaka, Hyderabad, and all certification, manufacturing permits, and public product catalogs are on the Indian side of this arrangement.
