iBus raises Rs 15 crore in Series A led by US-based investor

Firm ropes in ex-Micromax chief as non-exec chairman; former Infosys member Mohandas Pai joins advisory board

Bengaluru-based connectivity solutions provider iBus Networks & Infrastructure on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 15 crore in Series A from Vallabh Bhanshali of securities company Enam, US-based N Squared Management LLC and investment banker Cipher-Plexus .

Telecom operators and builders partner with iBus to provide better connectivity to their users and customers. The funds will be utilised to drive deployment of iBus solutions in multiple segments across the country to deliver connectivity inside buildings.

The company also has brought in former Micromax chairman Sanjay Kapoor as its non-executive chairman and former-Infosys board member Mohandas Pai on its advisory board. While Kapoor will be involved in providing strategic direction to the company, the latter will mentor and advise the team.

"Inside buildings connectivity is a multi-dimensional problem. Our patent pending technology platform comprehensively solves voice, data, proximity marketing and machine to machine connectivity problems,'' said Ram Sellaratnam, chief executive officer at iBus.

Founded in 2013, iBus is promoted by Sellaratnam, Subash Vasudevan and Sunil Menon, who were priorly working with companies like Infosys, Airtel and Essar. Currently, the company has deployed its solutions across 24 sites in 12 cities in the country. iBus's telecom partners include Airtel, Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Vodafone.

The company plans to cover 100 million square feet in terms of connectivity in the next six quarters, as opposed to the current coverage of 14 million square feet.

"We are extremely happy to be associated with iBus team and will keep on adding value as we have been doing so far," said Kunal Kumthekar, Founder & Managing Director of Cipher-Plexus.