Zoho invests ₹20 crore in deep tech startup Genrobotics
Zoho invests ₹20 crore in deep tech startup Genrobotics
Zoho said the investment will assist Genrobotics in its mission to eradicate manual scavenging in India and provide safety and dignity to workers in the sanitation and oil and gas industries.
Chennai-based unicorn Zoho Corp. has invested ₹20 crore in Genrobotics, a Kerala-based startup building robotics and artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions for social issues such as hazardous working conditions. Zoho said the investment will assist Genrobotics in its mission to eradicate manual scavenging in India and provide safety and dignity to workers in the sanitation and oil and gas industries. This investment is in line with Zoho’s mission to nurture the development of a deep-tech ecosystem in the country.
Genrobotics’ primary offering is the Bandicoot robot, touted as the world’s first robotic machine to clean confined spaces such as sewers manholes, sewer wells, storm water manholes, oily water sewers, and storm water sewers in refineries. Currently, several smart cities, refineries, multinational companies, townships and housing colonies across 14 states are leveraging Bandicoot robots, eliminating the need for human entry into manholes.
Genrobotics has recently ventured into healthcare and launched a robot-assisted gait training solution — G Gaiter — to aid the recovery of people with paraplegia through improved rehabilitation experiences. Genrobotics products, part of the Make in India initiative, are completely designed and manufactured in the country.
“Nurturing a thriving deep-tech ecosystem in India is one of Zoho’s priorities, and the investment in Genrobotics is a continuation of that commitment,” said Sridhar Vembu, chief executive officer and cofounder of Zoho.
“Building such technological competencies and critical know-how locally can help foster sustainable growth across key sectors, like industrial manufacturing, healthcare, and energy, in turn making the country economically stronger and self-reliant. Making this a reality requires focused, long-term investments that support home-grown deep-tech startups through intensive R&D and engineering phases, and enable them to bring their ideas to the market. Looking at how far they have come already in this journey, Genrobotics‘ vision resonates with us at Zoho and we are happy to fast-track their efforts and support them in their mission to end manual scavenging,” Vembu added.
Zoho invests ₹20 crore in deep tech startup Genrobotics
