TVS Motor Company Ltd is investing $7 million (Rs 48.25 crore) in New York City-headquartered big data analytics startup Scienaptic Systems Inc.
The two-wheeler maker said in a statement that it led the Series A funding round in Scienaptic.
The company is making the investment through wholly owned subsidiary TVS Motor (Singapore) Pte Ltd. The closing of the investment is subject to obtaining appropriate regulatory approvals.
TVS said Scienaptic has combined big data technologies and proprietary machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms on its decision platform Ether. Solutions built on Ether help enterprises improve risk and credit assessment, monitor evolving fraud patterns, and improve customer experience, it said.
Rajesh Narasimhan, a board member at TVS Motor, said the company evaluated many startups providing big data analytics and risk management solutions before investing in Scienaptic.
“We found Scienaptic’s product offerings and solutions with their ability to help organizations leverage actionable insights through the power of a strong analytics platform to be a clear differentiator and a unique proposition,” he said.
Narasimhan said Scienaptic’s end-to-end data analytics solution, with applicability to customers in various industries, has the potential to generate a new profit stream for the $8.5 billion TVS Group.
Scienaptic, led by founder and CEO Pankaj Kulshreshtha, was set up in 2014. It recorded revenue of $2.86 million for 2018-19, up from $ 1.51 million the year before.
The investment in Scienaptic is at least the third startup bet TVS has made this year. TVS uses its Singapore unit to invest in digital technology startups focused on the automotive and fintech industries.
In May, it invested $3.85 million in machine learning company Tagbox Solutions as part of a Series A funding round. The month before, TVS invested in Pune-based Altizon Systems Pvt. Ltd, which develops solutions based on industrial Internet of Things.
Previously, TVS has invested in electric bike maker Ultraviolette Automotive Pvt. Ltd and RentOnGo, an online marketplace for renting bikes and appliances.
