Reliance Retail buys 54% stake in robotics startup Addverb for $132 mn

Addverb Technologies co-founder and CEO says that the company will continue to operate independently and will use the funds received from Reliance to expand business overseas as well as set up

Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Retail has acquired a 54 per cent stake in domestic robotics company Addverb for USD 132 million (about Rs 983 crore), a senior official of the robotic firm said Tuesday.

Addverb Technologies co-founder and CEO Sangeet Kumar told PTI that the company will continue to operate independently and will use the funds received from Reliance to expand business overseas as well as set up one of the biggest robotic manufacturing facilities in Noida.

The company already has a manufacturing plant in Noida where it produces around 10,000 robots per annum.

"With this investment, Reliance will hold around 54 per cent stake in Addverb. They become the largest shareholder in the company. 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. The comfort level and the trust factor were already in place, which led to this association," Kumar said.

The strategic partnership with Reliance Retail 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.

"We are a profitable company. We will use the funds for overseas expansion and expanding manufacturing facilities.

At present, 80 per cent of our revenue comes from India but this mix is expected to change to 50-50 between India and overseas business in the next 4-5 years. Our revenues from software contribute 15 per cent of the total, which is expected to grow significantly," Kumar noted.

Founded in 2016, Addverb expects to close the current financial year with 100 per cent growth in revenue at Rs 400 crore compared to Rs 200 crore it posted a year ago.

"In the next 5-6 years, we want to be a billion-dollar company in revenue. We do everything in India- design, manufacture and deliver across the world," Kumar said.

Addverb has four subsidiaries located in Singapore, the Netherland, the US and Australia.

"Each of these subsidiaries will expand in terms of workforce. The manufacturing will happen in India, and our overseas subsidiary will help in designing the robots," Kumar said.