World Innovation Congress

Ankit Mehta is the Co-founder and CEO of ideaForge Technology, a next generation Drone Systems company that manufactures advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for Defence and Geospatial applications.

Ankit joined IIT Bombay in the year 2000, to pursue a Dual Degree (B.Tech. and M.Tech.) in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in Computer Aided Design and Automation. As a student in IITB, he implemented over 20 hardware projects, 6-7 of them originating from his own ideas; with a select few being handpicked for patenting.

Ankit founded ideaForge straight out of college, in 2007. He initially worked for six months at a sales & marketing consulting firm in Pune, before founding the organization, to earn enough to sustain himself for six months. For him, starting a hardware technology company was the most natural move, as it was something he always wanted to do.

Ankit is currently playing a prominent role in defining & standardizing the UAV regulations in India, providing neutral policy suggestions to positively impact the entire industry.

He was listed as one of the top 35 entrepreneurs under the age of 35 in India and on a separate occasion, was invited along with 200 other CEOs, to discuss the future growth of India, with the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi.

To this day, he continues to pursue his role as CEO and mentor with the same passion as he did in the beginning, and is leading the organization toward becoming India's foremost expert in indigenous UAV development.