Reliance's $132 mn aid to Addverb of Noida

New Delhi: Leading homegrown robotics company Addverb Technologies on Tuesday said that Reliance is investing up to $132 million in the company to become its largest shareholder. The funding will accelerate its expansion in Europe and the US, enabling Addverb to set up the biggest robotic manufacturing facility at a single location.

Addverb said that it plans to start an innovation lab with bases in Europe, the US and India to solve the complex problems in the field of human-robotic collaboration.

"We deploy 10 per cent of our revenue on R&D which has played a pivotal role in helping us create an extensive product portfolio. With growing urbanisation and the onset of Covid, companies are transforming supply chains across industries and robotics will play a critical role in making these supply chains more agile and flexible," said Sangeet Kumar, CEO and Co-founder, Addverb Technologies. Addverb earlier raised around $11 million led by Jalaj Dani, co-promoter of Asian Paints, making its total funding close to $143 million since its inception in June 2016.

"Reliance was already one of our esteemed clients with whom we had co-created and delivered highly automated warehouses for their Jio-Mart grocery business," Kumar informed. "This strategic partnership will help us leverage 5G, battery technology through new energy initiatives, advances in material sciences (carbon fibre) to deliver more advanced and affordable robots," he added.

The association will also provide the company an opportunity to deploy robots at scale in omni-channel distribution centres across different segments.

"With this round of funding we are planning to deploy our robots across hospitals and airports," the company informed. Addverb Technologies is based in Noida. It has developed highly automated warehouses for brands such as Reliance, Flipkart, HUL, Asian Paints, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, ITC, Marico and others.