A Chennai-based internet of things (IoT) company known as Detect Technologies has reportedly secured funds amounting to $3.3 million (Rs 23.6 crore) from SAIF Partners in a Series A round of funding. This funding marks the VC fund’s third such investment in the Internet of Things space.
Backers like Bharath Innovation Fund, Axilor Ventures, BlueHill Capital and a few angel funds from the Keiretsu Forum also participated in the round.
The company is planning to use these funds for international expansion, starting with Europe, and for building manufacturing capability for mass production of its patented technology products, Gumps and Noctua.
Founded in 2016 by IIT-Madras alumni Daniel Raj David, Harikrishnan AS, Karthik R and Tarun Mishra, the startup uses its drone (Noctua) and an ultrasonic sensor (Gumps) to cater to the energy sector where pipelines and other large assets need remote monitoring and inspection for leaks. It was chosen as the winner of the ‘Best on Campus’ category at the ET Startup Awards last year.
“India is a small portion of the global market where we can deploy our products,” CEO Daniel Raj David stated. “Our expansion will also entail collaborating with research centres and universities to boost R&D,” he added.
The company claims to work with 40 clients, including Bharat Petroleum Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Reliance Industries and the Tata Group. Detect Technologies is also in talks with several global clients in Europe and the US.
Digging into the details, the company has an 80-member team, with 50 permanent employees with operations in Chennai, Bengaluru, Jamnagar and the UK (London and Aberdeen).