By Sankalp Phartiyal
Indian startup Addverb Technologies Ltd. is seeking to raise more than $100 million, trying to cement its role as the country’s top maker of robots.
Addverb, whose robots handle sorting, material movement and other tasks at logistics firms, warehouses and electronics companies, is scouting for more capital after expanding in markets including the US, the Netherlands and Australia, Chief Executive Officer Sangeet Kumar said. The startup is investing in new technologies as it eyes growth in areas such as humanoid robots and prepares for a stock market debut in a few years, he said.
The startup faces much bigger rivals from countries such as China, Japan, and the US, yet Kumar is betting there’s room for an Indian contender in the rapidly developing industry. Backed by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd., Addverb has won over several Indian corporations as customers and now is setting its sights further.
“We want to be in the top 10 in the next 5 years and top 5 in the next 10 years,” Kumar, 46, said in an interview at one of Addverb’s two factories on the outskirts of New Delhi. The company estimates it currently ranks just outside the global top 30 in robotics market share by revenue.
The fundraising marks Addverb’s first such major effort since 2021, when it secured $132 million from Reliance, which now owns a controlling stake in the firm. Founders and employees own about a fifth of the company.
It’ll use the fresh capital mainly to develop products such as humanoid and quadruped robots, collect data and build artificial intelligence systems to train sophisticated machines.
The company sees a major growth opportunity in humanoids, a swiftly emerging market where companies from Unitree Robotics to Tesla Inc.’s Optimus vie for leadership. Kumar believes Indian companies can come up with competitive strengths, even with Chinese firms’ head start and advantages including government subsidies.
One way to boost competitiveness is to develop proprietary technology and reduce reliance on imported components, Kumar said. Addverb plans to launch lidar sensors soon after more than two years of development, in one move that’ll help cut dependence on overseas suppliers.
Addverb was founded in 2016 as a warehouse automation firm by four engineers, all of whom previously worked at Asian Paints Ltd., India’s largest paints company. The upstart’s asset-heavy model failed to win over venture funds, but one of the backers of Asian Paints invested in their firm.
The company has since has expanded to robots for factory automation, electronics manufacturing, health care, defense and research applications. Its customers include retail and consumer goods companies including Lenskart Solutions Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd. and Reliance.
Addverb makes half of its revenue from outside of India, employing a total of nearly 1,100 people in more than two dozens countries. After reporting losses during its international expansion over the past two years, Addverb is set to be back in the black in the fiscal year through March 2027 on an adjusted basis, Kumar said. He expects net profit the following year.
Revenue will hit ₹1300 crore ($136 million) this fiscal year, helped by an order book that stands at about $200 million, Kumar said.
An initial public offering is a key option for Addverb to boost scale, though it has no immediate plans for one, he said.
“At this stage, we think we are too small to go for an IPO,” Kumar said. “Probably when we are more than ₹4000 crore or ₹5000 crore in revenue, that is when we would go for IPO.”
That sales milestone could be reached as soon as within the next two years if the company continues to grow at the current pace, Kumar said.
