AI-first Robotics Startup Perceptyne Raises $3m Co-led by Endiya Partners and Yali Capital

Perceptyne, a deeptech AI-first robotics startup, announced today that it has secured USD 3 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Endiya Partners and Yali Capital with participation from Whiteboard Capital and notable angels.

Perceptyne is an emerging leader in the space of AI driven, semi-humanoid robots for industrial automation. The funding will be used for accelerating product development, customer acquisition and growth. The company is working closely with manufacturing giants in automotive and electronics.

Perceptyne’s products are designed to perform tasks demanding human-like dexterity, such as product assembly & packaging. To accomplish this, the startup is building a vertically integrated full stack robotics platform centered around AI.Perceptyne’s flagship products, PR-34D and PR-9D, are dual-arm and single-arm robots with integrated computer vision & AI, multi-modal sensing and highly articulate end-effectors suited for manufacturing / assembly line applications. 

Perceptyne’s integrated approach will help manufacturing companies accelerate robotic automation efforts by dramatically reducing integration time (quarters to weeks) and implement automation without changes to their assembly lines.

Perceptyne was founded by IIT Madras & BITS alumni Raviteja Chivukula, Jagga Raju Nadimpalli and Mrutyunjaya Nadiminti. The team has rich experience in designing, manufacturing and selling deep-tech products for the Aerospace, Automotive and Electronics industries.

Raviteja Chivukula, CEO & Co-founder, Perceptyne, said, “AI has been making huge strides in the digital world with more compute being available, complex models being built and large amounts of data being collected. Leveraging these advances in the world of manufacturing automation requires a different class of robots - those that can sense the real-world better and are articulate enough to execute AI inferencing granularly. Perceptyne is building automation systems at this intersection - those that combine AI models with dexterity, multi-modal sensing and articulate actuators. We believe that this will revolutionize manufacturing by making many more applications automatable.”

Raghav Gupta, Vice President, Endiya Partners, commented, “The time has come for an AI-first robotics company which is building for manufacturing automation. Perceptyne is addressing the critical need for a drop-in, generic automation solution that learns through AI-led tele-operation. Considering the tailwinds behind Make in India, and Perceptyne team’s capability, we believe there is much to be excited about.“

“We are excited about the potential of Perceptyne’s unique multi-faceted technology to deliver robotic solutions that are precisely tuned to the needs of sunrise sectors of India’s growing economy such as electronic manufacturing. We are very happy to partner with the talented and innovative team at  Perceptyne and we believe that they are well equipped to address the opportunities available at the intersection of robotics and AI”, added Karthik Madathil, Partner at Yali Capital.

The industrial robotics opportunity is vast, with the global market estimated to reach USD 41 billion annually by 2030, registering a CAGR of 12.3%. This growth fueled by global labor shortage and increased reshoring presents a strong global opportunity for AI driven robotics companies. In addition, the manufacturing sector in India is poised for rapid growth due to the China+1 strategy and aided by government push through schemes like PLI. Perceptyne is well positioned to meet this surging demand for automation both global and domestic. 

Accenture Invests in Humanoid General-purpose Robots Developer Sanctuary AI

Accenture has made a strategic investment through Accenture Ventures in Sanctuary AI, a company specializing in the development of AI-powered humanoid robots. These robots, like the PhoenixTM model, are designed to perform a wide variety of tasks quickly, safely, and effectively, and are intended to work alongside humans in various industries, including post and parcel, manufacturing, retail, and logistics warehousing operations.

Sanctuary AI's robots are notable for their human-like dexterity and ability to perform complex tasks with precision. The AI control system, CarbonTM, which powers these robots, is designed to mimic human brain subsystems, enabling the robots to react to their environment and perform new tasks efficiently.

This investment aligns with Accenture's broader strategy to innovate and provide solutions that integrate advanced technology with human creativity, ensuring a balanced and responsible approach to technology deployment. Sanctuary AI's inclusion in Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight is expected to connect emerging technology startups with Accenture’s global client base, fostering innovation and addressing strategic gaps.

"AI-powered humanoid robots are essential to reinventing work and supporting human workers as labor shortage is becoming an issue in many countries and industries,” said Joe Lui, Accenture’s global advanced automation and robotics lead. “Sanctuary AI’s advanced AI platform trains robots to react to their environment and perform new tasks with precision in a very short time. We see huge potential for their robots in post and parcel, manufacturing, retail and logistics warehousing operations, where they could complement and collaborate with human workers and automate tasks that traditional robotics can’t.”

Sanctuary AI’s general-purpose robot PhoenixTM, recently recognized as one of TIME magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2023,” can perform a multitude of work tasks. For instance, at a Mark’s retail store in Langley, BC, Canada, Phoenix has performed more than 100 tasks, including choosing and packing merchandise, and correctly cleaning, tagging, labeling and folding items, with robotic hands that rival human hand dexterity and fine manipulation. Phoenix is powered by the company’s AI control system, CarbonTM, which mimics subsystems found in the human brain, such as memory, sight, sound and touch, and translates natural language into action in the real world.

Accenture has previously invested in other robotics areas, for example, through Accenture Alpha Automation, a recently formed joint venture with Japanese robotics leader Mujin, and acquisitions of Eclipse Automation in Canada and Pollux in Brazil. Sanctuary AI is the latest company to join Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, an engagement and investment program that connects emerging technology startups with Accenture’s Global 2000 client base in order to fill strategic innovation gaps.

Geordie Rose, chief executive officer and co-founder of Sanctuary AI, said, “Robots with human-like intelligence will completely transform the workforce of the future. By combining Accenture’s expertise in disruptive technology with Sanctuary AI’s industry-leading robotics, we can help some of the biggest companies in the world manage this change and provide the best solutions for its clients.”

Founded in 2018, Sanctuary AI is based in Vancouver, Canada and is on a mission to create the world's first human-like intelligence in general purpose robots that will help us work more safely, efficiently, and sustainably, helping to address the labor challenges facing many organizations today. Sanctuary AI's growing list of customers and investors represents a wide variety of industries across Canada, the US, and other countries around the world.

Members of the Sanctuary team have earlier founded other notable technology ventures, such as D-Wave (a pioneer in the quantum computing industry), Kindred (first use of reinforcement learning in a production robot), and the Creative Destruction Lab (pioneered a revolutionary method for the commercialization of science for the betterment of humankind). With experience at startups and technology leaders such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Softbank Robotics, the team has experience launching market-defining innovations rooted in previously unsolved and deep scientific problems.

Besides Accenture, significant investments have been made by tech giants and venture capital firms in humanoid robotics. Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and OpenAl have invested in a humanoid robot startup, Figure AI, which has drawn a $675 million investment, to date.

Microsoft, Intel, and LG Innotek are also among the investors in various humanoid robotics ventures, recognizing the potential of these technologies in various industries.

Sharechat Founders' Automation Startup General Autonomy Raises $3 Mn in Seed Funding

Industrial automation and robotics company, General Autonomy, which is co-founded by the founders of ShareChat, has successfully raised $3 million in funding from investors including Elevation Capital and India Quotient, along with participation of notable angel investors such as Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Ramakant Sharma, and Ankush Sachdeva.

Founded this year, by Farhid Ahsan and Bhanu Singh, General Autonomy aims to pioneer industrial robotics infused with artificial intelligence (AI).

The launch as well as fundraise announcement was made by Ahsan on X (formerly Twitter), expressing gratitude for the support from investors like @IndiaQuotient and @ElevCap, as well as mentors @KhandujaM and @AnandLunia

Farhid and Bhanu have joined the likes of founders of several growth stage startups wherein co-founders or executives with leadership roles left the company and managed to raise capital for their new startup. The two founders left Sharechat earlier this year.

We Founder Circle Leads Pre-Seed Funding in Uma Robotics, That Offers Customized Robots for Small and Mid-sized Factories

(L-R) — Malin Stiller (COO), Suchit Sharma (CEO), Daya Shankar (CTO)

Uma Robotics intends to utilise funds for team expansion and new technology development

The Start-up is from first cohort of EvlolveX, Global Accelerator Programme by WFC

We Founder Circle (WFC), an early-stage start-up investment platform led by a global community of successful founders and strategic angels, has announced leading the pre-seed round in Uma Robotics with an Undisclosed amount.

Started by Suchit Sharma with more than a decade experience in Robotics Industry Uma Robotics provides sustainable logistics, automation, and IoT solutions to assist warehouses and manufacturing industries in cost optimization by enabling robotic-led heavy box and totes handling tasks that are typically performed by humans.

Logo of Uma Robotics

 Uma Robotics is one of the 6 start-up WFC funded from its first cohort of EvolveX, Global accelerator programme. WFC has collaborated with several strategic angels to help the start-up stabilise its operational capabilities to meet market barriers while also gaining a competitive advantage over competitors.

On the Investment Bhawna Bhatnagar, Co-founder of We Founder Circle affirmed “In the era of Industry 4.0, automation and efficient logistics are critical factors for the growth of any industry. Large companies are gradually adopting automation, but it is far beyond the reach of mid-sized and smaller businesses, as well as other industries such as mining, construction, and agriculture. Seeing Uma Robotics’ potential to be a major disruptor in this sector, we are excited to have invested in the start-up and we promise to provide support to its mission in all aspects.”

Commenting on the funds raised Mr. Suchit Sharma, Founder and CEO, Uma Robotics said “We wish to acknowledge WFC's and all other investors' confidence in our model and concept. As there are no relevant solutions for outdoors and multiple terrains at affordable prices, our vision is to completely revolutionize the Indian industry through automation to maintain a quality that is competitive with the global market. Our solutions have already been very well received by our clients and within the first year of our incorporation, we have delivered our robot to a Fortune 500 company. This fundraise not only brings us the resources but also the fine mentorship of an array of reputed investors. Their support will help us achieve more milestones.”

The start-up will utilized the raised funds to increase the size of the Engineering Team, Business Development, Building Infrastructure, and Hardware/ Software for RND and Development.

Uma Robotics recently won the STPI Chunauti 2.0 competition and received a 25 lakh INR investment from Pontaq Ventures. The brand also received a Nidhi Pravas grant from IIT Roorkee in May 2022 and received 10 lakh INR. In June 2022, Uma robotics won “Startup Uttarakhand grand challenge” and received an award from Honb. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami for their Innovative solution in Robotics

About We Founder Circle

Established in 2020 in Mumbai, We Founder Circle is a global community of successful founders & strategic angels that have come together to push the start-up industry and steer it towards aggressive growth.

WFC invests USD 50K- USD 2Mn amount in early-stage start-ups that are fueled with ambition, sustainability, and a strategic approach. WFC provides seed funding, business development, and global networking opportunities to start-ups as it believes early-stage start-ups need a lot beyond just financial support to become scalable and stable. It has already enabled USD 12 mn worth of investments across 33 start-up deals in the year 2021 alone and invested in 56 startups since incorporation.

Peer Robotics Announces $2.3 Mn in Seed Funding Led by Kalaari Capital

Robotic Technology Empowers Manufacturers with a Human-Centric Focus

Peer Robotics, an exciting new mobile robotics solution transforming manufacturing, today announced that it has raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by Kalaari Capital, with participation from existing investors Axilor Ventures, Connecticut Innoviti दसons and Innopact VC.

“Manufacturers regularly deal with lots of repetitive, labor-intensive tasks that are great candidates for automation,” said Rishabh Agarwal, Co-Founder, and CEO of Peer Robotics. “Small and medium-size companies are struggling with the labor shortage today, not to mention high turn-over. Also, many operations are still manual with employees operating at a high risk of injuries and fatigue. Solutions to date have been too expensive and complex,” he added.

Peer Robotics is designed to work with humans; mirroring workflows in manufacturing operations on repetitive tasks; saving time, increasing efficiencies, and reducing injuries. The company’s robots learn from humans in real-time allowing people on the shop floor to easily integrate and deploy solutions alongside them with a flexible design, out of box deployment and low maintenance.

While any operation with repetitive tasks is a candidate, common industries include Automotive, aerospace, fabrication and machining, and home appliance and tooling. Typical tasks include warehouse to shop floor; kitting for assembly; and assembly line delivery – all repetitive, labor-intensive tasks that can be handled by a robot leaving more cognitive tasks to employees.

Peer Robotics is part of STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator program portfolio. The robot technology has been in research and development for the past year at several manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and India.

“Cyber physical systems are ushering a new era where collaborative robots with contextual intelligence, low implementation time, and negligible integration cost will lead industrialization in every sector.” said Ravinder Pal Singh, Partner, Kalaari Capital. “Peer Robotics’ navigation module and heuristic feedback-based learning, offers manufacturers the next generation of smart, content driven and affordable robotic platforms,” he added.

For more information about Peer Robotics and a demo, visit www.peerrobotics.ai.

About PeerROBOTICS

Peer Robotics is a new mobile robotics solution designed to work with humans; mirroring workflows in manufacturing operations on repetitive tasks; saving time, increasing efficiencies, and reducing injuries. The company’s robots learn from humans in real-time allowing people on the shop floor to easily integrate and deploy solutions alongside them a flexible design, out of box deployment and low maintenance. For more information and a demo, visit www.peerrobotics.ai.

About Kalaari Capital

Kalaari Capital is an early-stage, technology-focused venture capital firm based out of Bengaluru, India. Since 2006, Kalaari has empowered visionary entrepreneurs building unique solutions that reshape the way Indians live, work, consume and transact. The firm's ethos is to partner early with founders and work with them to navigate the inevitable challenges of fostering ideas into successful businesses. At its core, Kalaari believes in building long-term relationships based on trust, transparency, authenticity, and respect.

Federal Bank Backs Kerala-based Robotics and Automation Startup ASIMOV Robotics

Federal Bank continues to pioneer technology driven innovation. Walking the talk, the bank, has a thriving team at their Digital Centre of Excellence (DCE), a young and dynamic team working at the Kerala Start-Up Mission premises to jam with the fintech ecosystem and is progressively moving ahead in the AI innovation space. The bank’s FedHive is its one stop digital command centre that enables the brand to instantly manage online reputational risks, generate new opportunities and offer enhanced customer service.

This belief in technology and the leverage it can give businesses and societies, is in line with the Digital India and Make in India initiatives. Federal Bank is actively supporting innovation in areas of healthcare, hospitality, public transport etc. In line with the thought, the bank gave tail wind to ASIMOV Robotics Pvt Ltd, a firm innovating in the robotics space, by sanctioning a loan to further their growth ambitions.

Commenting on the above, Shyam Srinivasan, MD & CEO of the bank said, “We follow our mantra ‘Digital at Fore, Human at Core’ as our lifeline. Over 230+ RPAs (robotic process automation) and 300+ APIs are helping us both increase productivity and engage meaningfully with a range of Fintech Partnerships. As a socially responsible and digitally empowered corporate, we have made inroads in supporting firms to convert their finest ideas into reality which would ultimately benefit the society at large."

The firm's robot, SAYABOT received the loan sanction order from Shyam Srinivasan, MD&CEO of the Bank in the presence of Kuriakose Conil, Senior Vice President and Zonal Head, Ernakulam Zone, M V S Murthy, Chief Marketing Officer, promoters of the firm, and other officials of the bank.

The robot demonstrated a preview of its abilities to take up everyday tasks, with deftness and dexterity. Clearly, technology is a force multiplier, in our Nation's progress. And Federal Bank continues on its journey to Serve भारत, with India’s Trust.

Federal Bank (NSE: FEDERALBNK) is a leading Indian private sector bank with a network of around 1,300 banking outlets and 1,886 ATMs/Recyclers spread across the country. The Bank’s total business mix (deposits + advances) stood at ₹ 3.35 Lakh Crore as on 30 June, 2022. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) of the Bank, computed as per Basel III guidelines, stood at 14.57% as on 30th June 2022. Federal Bank has its Representative Offices at Dubai and Abu Dhabi that serve as a nerve centre for Non-Resident Indian customers in the UAE.

The Bank also has an IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). Federal Bank is transforming itself, keeping its principles intact, into an organization that offers services beyond par. It has a well-defined vision for the future as a guidepost to its progress.

5 Cutting Edge Robotic Palletization System Providers in India

With e commerce growing at an exponential speed every day, the industries related to it need to keep pace with the changes. Warehousing industry is the one that is the backbone of e commerce, which enables fast delivery, the core advantage of e business. Automation of these warehouses ensures that the varied products that are in a warehouse can be managed as a data via customized software. However, another arena which needs focus is the movement of products and parcels. 

At times there are fragile items, at other there are huge and heavy parcels. It is humanly impossible to move them from one place to another, at each step, without any error. This is where the automation industry steps in. The robotic palletization has been a boon for this industry. Here are a few notable start- ups that have made a niche as the best in class robotic palletization system provider.

Atmos Systems

Atmos Systems is dedicated towards providing automation solutions, including robotic palletization system, to warehouses. Easing tasks such as picking up of boxes, cases, bags, cartons etc, it expedites and simplifies the task of unloading and loading objects in lesser time with minimal to no human intervention. In Palletizing, the objects are loaded onto a wooden or plastic pallet for transportation. In depalletizing the goods are unloaded at specific location. Any error at any stage can lead to a chain of mistakes, that will result in financial losses. Thus the automated process helps to cut out such mistakes and ensure accurate and error free deliveries to contact points at every stage.

Armstrong Ltd

They deliver with a promise to provide you products at a faster, as well as cheaper rate and smarter technology for all your robotic palletization needs. With the belief that automating the process, it brings about an increase in profitability, and minimizes errors. The unbeatable accuracy of the automated system is the key to success here. And warehouses jumping onto the bandwagon have definitely benefitted from it.

GreyOrange

Specializing in robotic solutions for warehouses, it makes use of AI cloud software to ensure that they provide the best of palletization solutions too. With a reach across Europe, US and Asia, one can expect them to deliver truly world-class products that adhere to international standards. This Gurugram based company is a force to reckon, in India and abroad because of the technology it uses.

Godrej Koerber

Offering world class services in manufacturing intra logistics and distribution intra logistics domain, their palletization solutions are hailed by the satisfied customers. Enabling a smooth, fast and effective handling of storage and packaging process, the products empower the end client to create a smooth process, that will yield better profits due to faster process, lesser manpower being used and zero scope for human error.

Rightbot

With an aim to truly revolutionize the warehouse industry it provides automated solutions to address the barriers in the warehousing industry. With a customized solution for every step, at lightning speed, all they want is to make the impossible, possible and give a higher throughput.

The bottom line here is that businesses related to warehousing industry can revolutionize the way they work by simply automating the warehouse, which is the need of the hour and increase profitability.

Simpliforge Launches India’s 1st State-of-the-Art Robotic Concrete 3D Printer at Charvitha Meadows

Minister for Finance, Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Telangana, T. Harish Rao, inaugurated the Robotic Construction 3D Printer in Siddipet

Simpliforge Creations, provider of additive manufacturing solutions, today launched their first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art Robotic Construction 3D Printer. Claimed to be India’s first and South Asia’s largest Robotic Construction 3D printer, the printer was inaugurated by Sri Thaneeru Harish Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Finance, Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Telangana, at Charvitha Meadows in Siddipet. Present along with the Minister were Mr. Amit Ghule, Founder & COO, Simpliforge Creations, and Mr Dhruv Gandhi, Founder & CEO, Simpliforge Creations who shared the innovative aspects of the machine and spoke about plans for innovative constructions to be handled by the robotic arm printer.

Construction 3D Printing is a technology set to address the unique housing needs of India for remote constructions as well as innovative designs. Simpliforge’s Robotic Arm Construction 3D Printer is not only the largest Construction 3D Printer in India but also the first of this size in South Asia. The 3D Printer can print landscaping elements, furniture, statues, and wall façade, among others, to full-scale civil structures. The printer is capable of working with environment-friendly materials like geopolymers and clay, with Simpliforge launching its proprietary construction material ‘SIMPLICRETE’ as well. The advantages of Additive Manufacturing being minimal wastage, shortened supply chains, optimal resource utilization and decentralized manufacturing are being brought to the construction Industry.

Minister Harish Rao launching the robotic arm

Amit Ghule-COO and Dhruv Gandhi-CEO Simpliforge Creations with team

Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Minister Harish Rao said, "Innovation can happen anywhere, it need not be a Tier I Metro city, but even a small town like Siddipet. The 3D printer is one such milestone initiative. It gives me immense joy to be launching this state-of-the-art technology at Charvitha Meadows. I congratulate the entire team of Simpliforge for this remarkable landmark and wish them all the best to continue to contribute to the needs of their industry and position Siddipet as the hub of such advanced technology innovations."

Expressing his delight on the launch of this innovation, Mr. Amit Ghule, Founder & COO, Simpliforge Creations, said, “We are humbled by the presence of our Hon’ble Minister Harish Rao garu for launching our project. The current 3D printer can create structures up to 7m in size, making it the largest Robotic Concrete 3D Printer in India, and in fact, the entire South Asian region. Further, the range of the printer can be increased as required. Robotic Concrete 3D printer provides better design versatility and freedom to the designers whilst also being easy to deploy at project sites than gantry style printers, making it attractive to designers and project developers alike."

"Charvitha Meadows is a one-of-its-kind and new-age gated community with plots and villas in Siddipet, Telangana. It’s a futuristic world designed with a sustainable approach for holistic living. We are proud to collaborate with Simpliforge and excited to embark on this remarkable journey towards innovation", said Hari Krishna J, MD & CEO at Apsuja Infratech (Charvitha Meadows).

Mr Dhruv Gandhi, Founder & CEO, Simpliforge Creations adding more details on the technology said, “At Charvitha Meadows, we are printing a number of artistic elements for its Sanjeevani Park, positioning it to be India’s first park of its kind. The design philosophy of Charvitha Meadows is sustainable living with amalgamation of futuristic technologies. This Robotic 3D printing technology is chosen considering the ecological advantages of the technology and the design freedom it offers. We greatly appreciate the Telangana Government for always being the pioneer in promoting innovative technologies and also working towards setting up a ‘National Centre for Additive Manufacturing’, showing the government’s proactive interest in pushing this technology ahead.”

Amit Ghule (COO) & Dhruv Gandhi (CEO) Simpliforge Creations and Hari Krishna J

Equipped with a large materials library, niche design expertise and sound domain knowledge for technology applications, Simpliforge Creations aims to expand globally with its technology. The company envisions constructing unique civil structures while developing robotic technology to enable smart construction in India and abroad. This technology also gives design freedom to architects and structural engineers to experiment with unique structures for novel construction.

ABOUT SIMPLIFORGE CREATIONS

Simpliforge is a holistic additive manufacturing solutions company with capabilities for Technology Development, System Integration and Service Solutions. Simpliforge provides complete prototyping and manufacturing solutions for products spanning the FMCG sector to niche domains such as prototyping, prosthetics, jewellery, medical devices, etc. For Construction Industry, Simpliforge provides Technology & Materials Development, Equipment manufacturing & Integration and End-to-end construction solutions. Powered by manufacturing domain experts, localized production facilities and international design experts, Simpliforge delivers services in the aforementioned domains.

ORAI Robotics Raises INR 6.5 Cr in Pre-series a Round Led by Inflection Point Ventures

Co-founders (L-R) Sujit Das Biswas, CTO & Swapnil Jain, CEO

ORAI Robotics is an integrated conversational AI platform focused at maximising ROI on digital marketing spends by minimising cost per lead

This is IPV’s 2nd round of investment in ORAI

IPV crosses 107 deals with Rs. 326 crore investment

Conversational AI platform ORAI has raised INR 6.5 crore in a Pre-Series A Round led by Inflection Point Ventures, one of India’s largest angel investment platforms. The funds raised will be utilised in expansion in sales & marketing, to capture larger markets, product development and enhancements, and towards R&D.

ORAI is addressing a significant problem, by offering 100% automation powered by AI with all the advanced features in a single bot that does all the work related to customer support, customer outreach, customer engagement, marketing, sales support, and post-sales services. The platform has also introduced WhatsApp commerce, where automating business conversations over WhatsApp with the power of AI.

Vinay Bansal, Founder & CEO, Inflection Point Ventures says, “AI driven chatbot has witnessed an upsurge in demand as it helps business to grow and function holistically. Similarly, ORAI has evolved exponentially as a robust AI conversational platform catering to 14 sectors including healthcare, real estate, education, automobile among others. This platform ensures end to end solutions to the customers and clients thus enabling a smoother customer interface, streamline operations, quicker lead generation and also maximise ROI on digital marketing spends. We at IPV look forward to supporting ORAI’s vision to grow beyond boundaries and be the leaders in AI conversational space.”

ORAI is a platform that offers customers end to end platform + Solution + Service. It is an all-in-one Conversational AI, customer acquisition platform enabling clients to gain higher revenues & increased ROI using Humanised virtual assistant enabling Realtime 3-way communication, and Automated lead qualification. It charges one time integration fee and a monthly subscription fee based on usage scale. ORAI currently has 100+ customers including Sayaji Hotel, GMR Delhi, Group Landmark, Kataria Group, Emcure etc.

Swapnil Jain, Co-Founder and CEO, ORAI, says, “As IPV continues to show trust in our business growth, with the 2nd round led by the Platform, we are all set to expand our operations nationally and internationally. With WhatsApp Commerce becoming the biggest demand in the industry, ORAI has received multiple appreciations from customers for its high tech, high performing platform.”

ORAI acts as a strong enterprise solution for a variety of use cases. The engagement ratio of the digital user has gone up by min 200% as the customers are reached on new-age channels like WhatsApp, Google Assistant and Alexa. The platform has helped businesses to Increase qualified leads and accelerate business revenue. Also, it provides 24x7 access to information, handles client queries more effectively and improves customer acquisition and retention.



ORAI’s Platform is also integrated with CRM (Salesforce) and ERP (SAP), hence any information customer, retailer, distributor is looking for is just a WhatsApp message away, like payment details, quotations, outstanding summary, order status etc. Now the customer, retailer or distributor needs to just initiate the chat, and all the responses are integrated and automated over WhatsApp chat from a business verified WhatsApp account. With the current solution, almost 30% of the load is reduced for their call centre teams.

The global conversational AI market size is expected to grow from USD 4.8 billion in 2020 to USD 13.9 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.9% during the forecast period. ORAI aims to be the leader in Conversational AI Space with constant innovations helping businesses connect better with customers.

About ORAI

ORAI was founded in 2020 by two likeminded technopreneurs who have the experience of building and selling complex enterprise solutions for 15+ years. The phonemical experience translated into global platform and now all set to transform customers business performance with new age conversational channels. Company has already reached from 0 to 100 customers in less than 1.5 years.

About IPV

Inflection Point Ventures is an angel investing platform with over 6000 CXOs, HNIs and Professionals to together invest in start-ups. The firm supports new-age entrepreneurs by providing them monetary & experiential capital and connecting them with a diverse group of investors. Started in 2018 IPV believes that ‘Everyone can Grow with Start-ups.’

Robotics Firm Genrobotics Raises Rs 2.5 Crore in Funding from Unicorn India Ventures and Anand Mahindra

Company has raised Rs 2.5 crore from existing investors Unicorn India Ventures, Anand Mahindra, and SEA Fund join as new investors

Anand Mahindra Invests in his personal capacity

Round led by Unicorn India Ventures

Funds raised to be used for scaling up production of Bandicoot and development of new products for the healthcare segment

Bandicoot is a fully automated robot for cleaning manhole with an aim to eradicate manual scavenging

 

Genrobotics, a Trivandrum - based robotics company has raised Rs 2.5 crore in Pre Series A round from existing investors Unicorn India Ventures. Anand Mahindra, who has invested in his personal capacity, has also joined as a new investor in this round along with SEA Fund. The round has been led by Unicorn India Ventures.

Genrobotics has already been working along with the Central Ministry as well as with State Governments in the mission of eradicating manual scavenging from the entire country. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs & Smart City Mission India has recognized the Automated Manhole cleaning robot Bandicoot 2.0, within a short span of time, they have deployed Bandicoot robots across 11 States in the country and hundreds of sanitation workers went through the rehabilitation process. Soon after the implementation at Coimbatore smart city, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has suggested and quoted Bandicoot 2.0, as an excellent example for enabling Zero Human-Intervention in the sewerage cleaning process.

The Young startup professionals at Genrobotic got a shot in the arm when one of India's biggest industrialist Mr. Anand Mahindra, praised their innovation and expressed interest to help them scale up. Mr Mahindra has always been truly one of the motivators to youth who share a deep passion for philanthropic activities, after seeing this aspiring team's work and thoughtful intentions on reaching services to the unreached ones, and he tweeted "There's a lot of nervousness about the role of robots & AI in the future. But frankly, if robots can liberate people from this most degrading job in the universe, then I promise I will discard any doubts & always pray at the shrine of technology & robotics" and Mr.Mahindra has offered his full support on ending manual scavenging through robotic scavenging.

Vimal Govind, Co-founder CEO, Genrobotics, says, "we are so happy that Bandicoot is bringing smiles to those innocent ones and we believe that our efforts brought light into the stinking realities of Manual scavenging in India. It was a great moment for us when Mr. Anand Mahindra took a personal interest in favor of robotic solutions for the real crisis hidden in. Mr.Mahindra has offered his full support on implementing Bandicoots in each and every corner of India for putting an end to this dehumanizing activity completely and it has accelerated the process of transforming the Manual scavenging to Robotic scavenging."

The funds raised will be used for further scaling up production of Bandicoot to meet the growing demand in light of eradicating manual scavenging and to develop new products and R&D to leverage the technology for the health care segment.

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, "We are happy that we went against our rules of not investing in just an idea in the case of Genrobotics. When we met them 2 years back in Kerala, the prototype was ready and they needed funding for a commercial-ready product. We decided to back them as we saw the potential robotics can bring to certain socially important issues especially if the team backing the business is as passionate as we have seen in Genrobotics. We believe that they have developed a globally relevant product and are already in talks with some international Governing bodies for its deployment. To facilitate their expansion plans, we have decided to back them up with additional funds."

About Genrobotics :

GENROBOTIC Innovations - the leading Robotics company in India, started with a mission of providing better & safer methods to the people, using Robotics & AI for working with extreme & unsafe environments and also for the welfare of mankind. They primarily focus on designing and development of Robotic solutions to address the most relevant social issues and recently introduced their sister wing in bringing new perception for the country's affordable Medical Mobility Research. The Promising Robotics company seamlessly on for achieving the dream of India's prestigious mission - Building Atma Nirbhar Bharat, thereby making India for the world in all means. They have already been an important part of the country's greatest initiatives Swachh-Bharath Abhiyan and Make in India. 

About Unicorn India Ventures :

Unicorn India Ventures is a Mumbai-based VC that started in 2015 by Anil Joshi and Bhaskar Majumdar. The Fund has also launched a UK India cross border fund for funding UK startups looking to enter India and have invested in 7 UK startups. From its Fund, UIV has invested in 18 companies like Inc42, Sequretek, Pharmarack, Genrobotics, NeuroEquilibrium, SmartCoin,Open Bank, Open app to name a few. Unicorn India has also announced Fund II, which is a Rs 400 crore fund launched in 2019. It has also marked its first close of Rs 90 cr and has announced 4 investments.