India’s QuBeats wins MoD grant to build GPS-free quantum navigation system for Navy

Indian quantum deeptech startup QuBeats has secured a ₹25 crore (~US$ 3 million) grant from the Ministry of Defence‘s iDEX ADITI 2.0 Challenge to develop GPS-denied Quantum Navigation Systems (QPS) for the Indian Navy, positioning itself as a strategic innovator in quantum sensing and battlefield navigation. The award under the Defence Innovation Organisation’s flagship program enables the startup to build high-precision sensors that allow navigation in environments where GPS is unavailable or spoofed, a critical requirement for modern military operations.

Emerging as one of the first quantum sensing startups in India, QuBeats is now tasked with building next-generation Quantum Positioning Systems designed to operate independently of satellite systems—enabling precise navigation using Earth’s magnetic anomalies even in contested or denied zones. With this project, India is actively stepping into a global arms race for GPS-independent navigation where China and the United States are already deploying military-grade quantum systems.

What is QuBeats building with the ADITI 2.0 defence grant?

The grant awarded to QuBeats under the ADITI 2.0 Defence Challenge (short for Aatmanirbhar Defence Tech Innovators) focuses on indigenous development of a Quantum Positioning System (QPS) based on quantum magnetometer arrays. These sensors are capable of detecting minuscule variations in the Earth’s magnetic field, offering a reliable and highly secure alternative to conventional GPS.

In its release, QuBeats said the solution will enable the Indian Navy to operate submarines, drones, and vessels in GPS-denied or spoofed zones, where traditional satellite-based navigation fails or is vulnerable to enemy interference. The innovation is crucial for India’s blue-water naval ambitions, especially as adversarial forces ramp up electronic warfare capabilities aimed at blinding navigation systems.

QuBeats’ product roadmap includes quantum magnetometers, quantum gyroscopes, miniature atomic clocks, Rydberg radars, and target detection systems built for high-threat, GPS-contested environments. The startup emphasized that the core technology has dual-use potential, with significant civilian applications in aerospace, energy infrastructure, and autonomous logistics.

Why GPS-denied navigation is now critical for India’s Navy

The need for GPS-free navigation has grown exponentially as global powers invest in anti-satellite weapons, cyber-jamming systems, and electronic warfare. For India, the vulnerability of its naval fleet and air assets to spoofed GPS coordinates or signal degradation could compromise mission effectiveness and operational integrity during both wartime and peacetime deployments.

Quantum navigation—particularly magnetometer-based positioning—offers a resilient solution. Unlike GPS, which relies on receiving satellite signals, magnetometers utilize the Earth’s magnetic fingerprint, allowing vehicles to locate themselves even underground, underwater, or in satellite-degraded airspace.

In an indirect joint statement, the startup’s founders noted that winning ADITI 2.0 was not merely a validation of their technology, but a “clarion call to India’s quantum aspirations,” stating that QuBeats was here to “build the future—and build it from India.”

Who are the founders behind QuBeats’ quantum breakthrough?

QuBeats was founded by a team of Indian-origin scientists and engineers with global academic pedigrees. The founding team includes Mallikarjun Karra, a PhD candidate at Max Planck Society, Madhu Talluri, a postdoc from Lawrence Berkeley Lab, Shouvik Mukherjee, a postdoctoral researcher from the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, and Rajat Sethi, an alumnus of MIT, Harvard, and IIT Kharagpur.

Together, the founders bring expertise across quantum physics, sensor engineering, and defense-grade product development. Their vision positions QuBeats at the cutting edge of India’s quantum deeptech ecosystem, combining global research excellence with domestic application.

The startup is currently raising a seed funding round to accelerate commercialization and expand its intellectual property portfolio. Institutional interest is expected to grow significantly following the iDEX award, especially from funds focused on dual-use technology, sovereign defense IP, and strategic infrastructure.

How QuBeats plans to commercialize quantum sensors beyond defence

While defence remains the immediate focus, QuBeats’ broader strategy includes multi-sector commercialization of quantum sensing technologies. Applications range from autonomous drone navigation, aerospace systems, and deep-earth exploration, to AI-guided battlefield situational awareness through high-fidelity detection of magnetic and gravitational anomalies.

The startup has built a strong IP pipeline in quantum coherence and entanglement technologies. In particular, its Rydberg-based radars—a novel technology for sensing electromagnetic fields—are being pitched as next-generation tools for detecting stealth objects, including submarines, drones, and low-signature assets.

QuBeats’ long-term business roadmap includes licensing to defense integrators, co-development with aerospace OEMs, and platform-as-a-service offerings for global militaries and research institutions.

What’s at stake globally: China, the US, and India’s quantum warfare race

QuBeats’ rise comes at a time of intense geopolitical competition over next-generation quantum capabilities. According to global defence analysts, China’s PLA has already deployed quantum magnetometers for submarine tracking and battlefield surveillance. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense is advancing chip-scale atomic clocks, gravity sensors, and quantum inertial navigation systems to harden its forces against GPS disruptions.

By winning the ADITI 2.0 grant, QuBeats allows India to counterbalance these developments. The ability to create indigenous, IP-secured, and battle-tested quantum systems not only ensures operational autonomy but also reinforces India’s strategic deterrence posture in the Indo-Pacific region.

Experts in quantum defence suggest that while the U.S. leads in quantum computing and China in quantum communications, India has a chance to become a top-tier nation in quantum sensing, a niche with immense tactical value.

What does QuBeats’ rise mean for India’s deeptech ecosystem?

QuBeats joins a small but growing group of Indian startups working on sovereign deeptech IP. Its ADITI 2.0 win is not just a milestone for the company but a signal that India’s military innovation pipeline is maturing. Through initiatives like iDEX and DRDO-backed research challenges, startups are being empowered to build globally competitive solutions in areas once considered the exclusive domain of defence PSUs or foreign OEMs.

From an investor lens, QuBeats embodies the convergence of multiple high-growth trends: deeptech commercialisation, sovereign defence spending, dual-use innovation, and quantum advantage. The total addressable market for quantum navigation and sensing is expected to exceed US$10 billion globally, with applications ranging from smart weapons and secure communications to geological and aerospace intelligence.

India’s ambition to become a quantum powerhouse will likely require not only startups like QuBeats but also public-private collaboration, sustained R&D capital, and global partnerships—areas where QuBeats already shows momentum.

India’s flag in the quantum future

As stated in its release, QuBeats considers the ADITI 2.0 victory a reaffirmation of its mission to position India as a sovereign leader in quantum technologies. In an era where sensor dominance and navigation autonomy define national power, the startup’s quantum navigation platform could become a foundational element of India’s 21st-century defence doctrine.

“With vision, innovation, and the indomitable spirit of first principles,” QuBeats is now carrying India’s flag into the quantum future—one magnetometer at a time.