Xponents, a platform that enables family-owned businesses to synergise with the startup ecosystem, has raised $1.56 million in a Seed funding round from a UAE-based venture capitalist, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Xponents will be using the funds to launch an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based platform that creates synergies between startups and family-owned businesses, which enable both the ecosystems to grow faster.
The company said it is leveraging its technology that gauges the strength, language, fears and challenges those businesses in both the ecosystems--family-owned and startups--face, thus enabling them to synchronise and co-create. Xponents said it follows a framework based on the philosophy of mindset, synergy, and scalability, the statement said.
“India is the largest family-managed business ecosystem and third largest startup ecosystem in the world, and they don't speak the same language. We are building an ecosystem via a platform to enable all the stakeholders like family-managed businesses, startup founders, investors, and mentors to synergize and grow exponentially,” said Sarth Jain, Co-founder, Xponents.
Xponents was founded by Jain, Deepak Nagpal and Ratish Pandey earlier this year. While Jain has a Master's degree from SP Jain Business School of Management, he is also the Chairman of Vinyl Pipes. Nagpal, meanwhile, has previously worked with Publicis Sapient and Fidelity Investments. Nagpal has a career experience of more than 23 years. Pandey, on the other hand, has an experience of over 35 years and has previously worked with many multinational companies in the marketing department.
Xponents currently has 4,000 family-managed businesses on its platform and plans to create landing pads for global startups and take Indian startups to global markets, through family-managed businesses.
The company has launched three verticals since its inception--Xponents Ventures, Xponents Deals and Xponents Investments. The company counts family-managed businesses like Alpha Plastomers Pvt Ltd, Kabra Bearing and Power, and Ganesh Laxmi Textile Processors among its clients. The company has also onboarded four startups including Lawyered, Agua Wireless Systems Pvt Ltd, Dandera Technologies Pvt Ltd and Eco Impulse, the statement said.
“I strongly believe startups and founders are a great force in fueling India’s growth story; and family business owners have an excellent understanding of the market-dynamics, real-world problems, and opportunities,” said Nagpal.