Invento Robotics has raised Rs 2 crore ($281,330 at current exchange rate) in a seed funding round led by early-stage ITI Growth Opportunities Venture Fund of Investment Trust of India, which is a financial services group backed by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd director Sudhir Valia.
Others that participated in the seed round include Pune-based Windrose Capital, angel investors Kevin Saboo and Vikash Sharma of IC1101 Inc., Bengaluru-based Invento said in a statement.
Invento Robotics is known for its Mitra series of robots, which have been showcased at various forums, with a variant being launched by prime minister Narendra Modi.
Invento Robotics, owned by Invento Makerspaces Pvt. Ltd, said it will use the capital it has raised for research and development as well as producing new variants of its robots and expanding into new industries and verticals. Currently, the Mitra robots are deployed in various companies including HDFC, Accenture, Morris Garages, General Motors, Zomato, and PVR.
“Invento is a pioneer of commercial and economically viable humanoid robotics in India, and its product Mitra will be a game changer in the way big brands interact and service their clients,” Windrose Capital managing partner Rohit Goyal said.
Invento was co-founded by Balaji Viswanathan and two others. Viswanathan has founded and co-founded entities including Be Limitless Inc., Zingfin.com, and NalandaU.
Invento says its robots are designed to interact with humans using contextual facial and speech recognition, as well as autonomous navigation. They are also capable of speech synthesis in languages such as Hindi, Tamil and Sinhalese.
The company currently offers two variants, Mitra and Mitri, and is looking to launch more models to cater to different applications in various industries and operating verticals.
Deals in robotics
Earlier this month, Skilancer Solar Pvt. Ltd, a startup that provides robotic cleaning systems for solar panels of commercial parks and establishments, raised an undisclosed sum from incubator and accelerator Venture Catalysts.
In August last year, Miko, a robotics startup that focuses on creating emotive products, raised $7.5 million (around Rs 53.29 crore) in its Series A funding round from a clutch of investors including existing investor Chiratae Ventures. Previously, it had raised $2 million (Rs 13 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Chiratae and YourNest.
Other startups that have raised money in the segment include SP Robotics Works Pvt. Ltd, Systemantics India Pvt. Ltd and Fin Robotics Inc.
