Summary:

  • Niqo Robotics secures $9mn in funding round.

  • The round was led by Brida Innovation Ventures and contributed Rs. 41.5 crores.

  • The company underwent a rebranding initiative in March of the previous year, transitioning from TartanSense to Niqo Robotics.

Niqo Robotics, previously known as TartanSense, a pioneering agritech robotics company based in Bengaluru, has recently secured a substantial investment of Rs 74.7 crore (approximately $9 million) in a fresh funding round led by Brida Innovation Ventures. This marks the company’s resurgence after a hiatus of three years.

According to regulatory filings accessed from the Registrar of Companies, Niqo Robotics has authorized 8,577 preference shares for Rs 87,090 each, resulting in the capital above infusion.

Brida Innovation Ventures contributed Rs 41.5 crore of the total funding while existing investor Omnivore Partners re-engaged in the company’s growth journey by subscribing Rs 33.2 crore to this funding round.

Following this investment round, Niqo Robotics’s valuation, as per TheKredible, a startup data intelligence platform, stands at approximately Rs 290 crore (or $35 million post-money valuation).

After the infusion of fresh capital, Omnivore Partners emerged as the largest external stakeholder, holding 25.7% of the company. This was followed by Brida Innovation Ventures, with 18%, and Blume Ventures, with 10.7%. Meanwhile, the founder, Jaisimha Rao, retained more than a quarter of the company’s ownership.

Niqo Robotics, established in 2015 by Jaisimha Rao, specializes in developing compact agricultural robots integrated with AI-driven computer vision technology. These advanced robots are designed to minimize costs and enhance farmers’ profitability.

The company underwent a rebranding initiative in March of the previous year, transitioning from TartanSense to Niqo Robotics.

Having accumulated total funding of $16 million to date, including a $5 million Series A round from FMC, Omnivore, and Blume Ventures in August 2021, Niqo Robotics has been steadily advancing its mission. The company also secured a $2 million Seed round in 2019.

While specific financial figures for FY24 are yet to be disclosed, Niqo Robotics, now in its ninth year of operation, primarily operated its Indian entity in the pre-revenue phase during FY23, generating a modest revenue of Rs 1.3 crore. However, the company witnessed a twofold increase in losses, amounting to Rs 9.8 crore, by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2023.