Triton Investment Advisors, a Mumbai-based venture capital firm, has invested in an artificial intelligence- and deep learning-based startup that is focussed on quality assessment, defect and damage detection.
The investment in CamCom, operated by Gifto Retail Technologies Pvt. Ltd, is part of the startup’s pre-Series A round, a company statement said. It didn’t disclose the quantum of the investment.
CamCom was founded in 2017 by Umesh Subramanian, Mahesh Subramanian and Ajith Nayar. While Ajith and Umesh have previously worked with software services giant Wipro, Mahesh has been an entrepreneur in the deep-technology segment.
The startup says it intends to become a top player in the quality assurance segment through its computer vision-based platform. According to its website, CamCom leverages computer vision and deep learning to automate quality checks across a product’s lifecycle. It provides quality checks to industries such as various parts of the automobile manufacturing and after-sales service ecosystem and supply chains in the bottling industry.
“What impressed us about Camcom is that the platform goes beyond data interpretation with a mix of product engineering and predictive and prescriptive analytics to solve critical challenges in any product manufacturing process,” Triton partner Dev Raman said.
He added that the Bengaluru-based startup had both the backend software and the front-end-facing automation to provide its client with solutions.
The investment marks another business-to-business facing bet for Triton, which usually commits to small to mid-sized services companies with a scalable business model. According to its website, the firm invests via pure equity and equity-linked convertible instruments with a usual timeline of four to seven years.
Companies in its portfolio include human resources-technology startup ZingHR, quick-service restaurant company Jumboking, technology-focussed recycling firm Recykal and digital marketing company Ethinos.
Deals in the AI space
AI startups have seen a massive surge of investor interest and funding in the last few years, as companies and clients across sectors seek to address pain points in their operations. Startups are also using to open up new products, service categories, and entire sectors.
Last month, field service automation startup Zinier Inc. raised $90 million (around Rs 638.52 crore) in a Series C funding round led by the US-based investment management firm ICONIQ Capital. Tiger Global Management, Accel, Founders Fund and the Nokia-backed NGP Capital were also among those that took part in the investment.
In December, AI-based voice conversations startup Observe.ai raised $26 million from a clutch of investors, including California-based VC firm Scale Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners and Steadview Capital. In November, Cogniphi Technologies Pvt. Ltd, an AI-based cognitive technology startup, raised funding from UST Global Inc.