Reliance Buys Majority Stake In Robotics Startup Addverb For $132 Million

Reliance Industries Ltd. has bought a majority stake worth up to $132 million (nearly Rs 980.2 crore) in a robotics startup, accelerating its acquisition spree to build a digital future that combines content with commerce.

Addverb Technologies Pvt. has announced a strategic partnership that will see the retail-to-refining conglomerate become its “majority shareholder”, Satish Shukla, co-founder and chief executive officer at the robotics firm, told BloombergQuint in an interview. He didn’t disclose the exact percentage of stake Reliance is picking up.

The round, he said, values the firm at $265-270 million (around Rs 2,000 crore).

Addverb provides end-to-end automation solutions to clients such as Amazon, Flipkart, Marico Ltd., Reliance, Tata Chemicals Ltd., ITC Ltd. and Asian Paints Ltd., among others. It earlier raised around $11 million in a Series A and Pre-Series funding led by Jalaj Dani, co-promoter of India’s largest paintmaker. Together, its total funding stood at close to $143 million since its inception in June 2016.

The latest funding round, Shukla said, will be used to accelerate the company’s global expansion, enhancing manufacturing capability, set up an innovation lab in Europe, and to double down on its operations in India.

Addverb, in a statement, has said the funding will accelerate the company’s expansion in Europe and the U.S. and enable it to set-up the biggest robotic manufacturing facility, which will be completely automated, at a single location.

The Mukesh Ambani-owned conglomerate has so far invested more than a billion dollars in Indian startups, ranging from music streaming service Saavn Media Pvt. and furniture retailer Urban Ladder Home Decor Solutions Pvt. to edtech company Embibe. These are a part of the group’s overall investments across businesses. Reliance, according to a Morgan Stanley report, has invested more than $5.6 billion across sectors, led by telecom and digital business.