Underwater inspection is a field with numerous tasks, but it has a common problem: checking the wall of a dam, the hull of a ship, the approach to a harbor, or an oil storage tank are different assignments that require various sensors. Purchasing a specialized robot for each task is unaffordable for most organizations that need to perform such work.
An alternative solution is one machine capable of transforming. The modular robot accepts various payloads to perform different jobs, allowing the same apparatus to inspect a bridge support one week and monitor a reef the next. Although such a platform, which accepts many configurations, is more complex to design because it cannot be optimized for any single task, the economic benefit for a buyer who conducts inspections occasionally is significantly higher.
Xera Robotics operates on this principle. The company, founded in Chennai by Mohana Krishnan Ethirajulu and Muni Venkata Krishna Gopinat, positions itself as a manufacturer of unmanned systems, where underwater robots are the main product line.
Chennai has become an unexpected hub for this activity. The city is located on the coast, making it easy to access ports, shipyards, and marine infrastructure, and now several companies specializing in marine robotics are concentrated here, competing for the same inspection contracts.
The flagship series is DeepDive, specifically the ROMAR model, which stands for Remotely Operated Marine Robot. The company describes its platform as modular, equipped with interchangeable blocks, a position-holding function to stabilize the apparatus during inspection, a collision avoidance system, and full 360-degree rotation.
The position-holding function is the least obvious but most useful. Since water moves, a robot drifting with the current cannot keep the camera stationary relative to the structure long enough to detect a crack; therefore, the ability to fix itself in place distinguishes an inspection tool from a mere photography machine.
According to the company's statement, application areas include infrastructure, dams, bridges, and pipelines, as well as defense work such as harbor surveillance and security, environmental monitoring, including reef and pollution work, and industrial inspection in the oil and gas, shipping, and energy sectors. Furthermore, the company mentioned the inspection of storage tanks, which is a confined and hazardous space no one wants to send a person into.
In addition to robots, the company manufactures electric propulsion units for boat owners that use the same underwater propulsion unit and control engineering solutions as the robots themselves, giving the company a second product based on the same expertise.
Information about the company's funding is modest and limited. Xera Robotics has raised funds in two rounds, the details of which are not disclosed: a grant from StartupTN, the Tamil Nadu government's startup support agency, in November 2022, and a seed round in July 2025. IIMK LIVE, an incubator at IIM Kozhikode, and Cochin Shipyard are mentioned in databases as investors.
The company has received state-level recognition. The Minister of MSME Tamil Nadu awarded the company at the Global Investors Meet, and it also participated in a regional startup exhibition in Coimbatore. Tamil Nadu is one of the most active state governments supporting hardware startups directly through grants and its own startup support agency.
However, publicly available records do not reflect the scale of operations. Corporate documents show paid-up capital of 1.11 lakh rupees, and no clients, contracts, or deliveries have been announced. The company's main website is a placeholder stating 'coming soon.'