Assisted Living Technology Startup Arcatron Bags Seed Funding From IAN

Arcatron Mobility, which manufactures next generation devices to make assisted living more dignified and safe, has raised an undisclosed funding led by Sudhir Mehta, Harish Mehta and Ketan Dalal from the Indian Angel Network.

Startup will use freshly infused funds for the production launch of Frido, a self driven shower and commode wheelchair which fits in a suitcase. In addition, funds will also be utilized to set up online and offline sales channels across major cities in India and filing of IP for future products like the Frido Lite.

Commenting on the development, Indian Angel Network Lead Sudhir Mehta said, “Arcatron Mobility is doing a tremendous job in simplifying and improving lives of elderly and locomotor impaired individuals enabling them to lead more independent and active lifestyles. We are hopeful that with their motto of ‘Purpose Driven Innovation’ Arcatron, will continue to apply engineering and technology for making products aimed at making assisted living more dignified and safe. At IAN, we are happy to make this design lead manufacturing investment”

Notably, Sudhir Mehta is also the Managing Director of Pinnacle Industries, India’s largest commercial vehicle and Interiors Company. According to Sudhir, they have entered into a manufacturing partnership with Pinnacle Industries on favorable terms. This allows Arcatron to have access to a high-tech manufacturing facility with near zero fixed cost. This will also help them to stay asset light and focus on our core offerings i.e. R&D, marketing and sales.

Founded in 2015 by four NIT Calicut alumni, Ganesh Sonawane, Laxmikant Banjarey, Kunal Kamble and Dewaj Baruah, Arcatron is building the next generation of devices to enhance lives of people with limited mobility and elderly care needs.

“We are working on developing various products like the Frido Lite which has the potential to replace most of the transport wheelchairs used by elderly individuals, tourism companies, hospitals, etc. Presently, no product available in India allows people with limited mobility to safely access bathrooms at their homes and on the go, Frido will help solve this problem,” said said Ganesh Sonawane, Co-founder and CEO, Arcatron Mobility.

Indian Angel Network is one of the largest business angel network with close to 500 members across the world. Established in 2006 to foster entrepreneurship with prime focus on nurturing and mentoring new generation entrepreneurs, IAN brought the concept of angel investment to India and has been instrumental in bringing India’s startup ecosystem on the global map. The network is sector agnostic and has funded startups across 17 sectors in India and 6 other countries growing global footprint companies. In the calendar years' 14,15 ,16 IAN has invested about over $32 million in approx. 60 deals.

Not only this, 15 companies have already given cash exits and another 12 have raised next round monies with excellent increase in valuations. Some of its marquee investee companies include, WebEngage, Druva, Stayzilla, Box8 to name few.

Sector Overview

If we look at the figures, market potential for shower and commode wheelchairs in India is around 440 Cr. More than 90% of it is untapped because of lack of availability of the right products. The global wheelchair companies with strong Indian presence have failed to deliver products compatible to Indian infrastructure in shower chair category. Whereas Chinese products dominate the Indian market but are perceived too unsafe and risky by hospitals and most end users. These figures indicate that Indian entrepreneurs have great opportunity to tap this untapped market and offer Indian masses with the solution while making making.

Startup Funding Roundup: A Smart Wheelchair Maker, Proximity Marketing App, and More

This new year 2016 has been kind on the startup industry with a lot of startups receiving the funding they require. Indian startups have seen a lot of funding from a variety of investors in these two months of 2016 itself. Here are a few mention of startup funding stories of past week.

• Shouut: This is a Delhi based startup operating in the field of social discovery. Basically, they are an app where the user can provide a 250 recommendation for places, events, restaurants etc. They have raised around 3.3 crores from an individual investor itself. They plan to use this funding majorly for customer acquisition.



• FT Cash: This is a Mumbai based startup. It is a mobile payment platform just for micro merchants. Their aim is to aggregate all forms of payment channels like net banking, credit card, wallets, debit cards etc under one umbrella so as to make this process more efficient. It was launched in 2014 with the aim of enabling cashless payments. They have recently received a funding of 1crore (Pre Series A) from IvyCamp platform.



• Aahaa: It is an online marketplace exclusively for office supplies. They were launched in 2013 with the aim of being the go-to platform for any office needs be it stationary, trophies, corporate gifts or a requirement for the cafeteria. They have raised a funding of about $1million (Pre Series A) from YourNest Angel Fund. This funding will be used to expand and improve infrastructure.



• Arcatron Mobility: It is a Pune-based startup that makes devices used to improve mobility and make lives easier for those who need it the most like the elderly or differently abled. This wheelchair can be controlled using a mobile app. They won the top prize at this competition "SURGE 2016". They recently received an undisclosed amount of seed funding recently.

• Zappka: It is a Gurgaon based startup which was founded in 2014. It is a social network of apps, kind of like Zomato but for apps. People can review, rate, discuss and share details about an app. They want to improve the users' "Applife" as they call it. They have recently received an angel funding of $100,000 from investors. They want to focus on improving the UX of the app with this funding.



• Imariticus Learning: It is a Mumbai based startup which provides courses and certifications in the field of financial and analytical services. It has classroom services and online learning as well. They want to bridge the gap between academics and industry by preparing the graduates for the industry work and giving them the proper exposure. They have received a funding of $1million which they plan to use to enhance their e-learning facilities.

Startup Funding Roundup: A Smart Wheelchair Maker, Proximity Marketing App, and More

This new year 2016 has been kind on the startup industry with a lot of startups receiving the funding they require. Indian startups have seen a lot of funding from a variety of investors in these two months of 2016 itself. Here are a few mention of startup funding stories of past week.

• Shouut: This is a Delhi based startup operating in the field of social discovery. Basically, they are an app where the user can provide a 250 recommendation for places, events, restaurants etc. They have raised around 3.3 crores from an individual investor itself. They plan to use this funding majorly for customer acquisition.



• FT Cash: This is a Mumbai based startup. It is a mobile payment platform just for micro merchants. Their aim is to aggregate all forms of payment channels like net banking, credit card, wallets, debit cards etc under one umbrella so as to make this process more efficient. It was launched in 2014 with the aim of enabling cashless payments. They have recently received a funding of 1crore (Pre Series A) from IvyCamp platform.



• Aahaa: It is an online marketplace exclusively for office supplies. They were launched in 2013 with the aim of being the go-to platform for any office needs be it stationary, trophies, corporate gifts or a requirement for the cafeteria. They have raised a funding of about $1million (Pre Series A) from YourNest Angel Fund. This funding will be used to expand and improve infrastructure.



• Arcatron Mobility: It is a Pune-based startup that makes devices used to improve mobility and make lives easier for those who need it the most like the elderly or differently abled. This wheelchair can be controlled using a mobile app. They won the top prize at this competition "SURGE 2016". They recently received an undisclosed amount of seed funding recently.

• Zappka: It is a Gurgaon based startup which was founded in 2014. It is a social network of apps, kind of like Zomato but for apps. People can review, rate, discuss and share details about an app. They want to improve the users' "Applife" as they call it. They have recently received an angel funding of $100,000 from investors. They want to focus on improving the UX of the app with this funding.



• Imariticus Learning: It is a Mumbai based startup which provides courses and certifications in the field of financial and analytical services. It has classroom services and online learning as well. They want to bridge the gap between academics and industry by preparing the graduates for the industry work and giving them the proper exposure. They have received a funding of $1million which they plan to use to enhance their e-learning facilities.