CBA, an investment network specialized in cross border deals invests in Hyderabad based Jay Robotix
Cross Border Angels is an international investment network specialized in cross border deals. CBA is a Scaale company which is a Venture Resource Group dedicated to implement solutions for startups and SMB’s through sales, capital and talent. The company has just announced an investment in Hyderabad incubated and now Singapore headquartered Jay Robotix. CBA was joined, in the current round, by Singapore Angel Network (SGAN), the angel investment arm of the Thakral Group in Singapore.Jay Robotix, founded in 2010, aspires to be the largest educational robotics company in the world. With products and services targeted at the Educational sector, Jay Robotix is building a portfolio of high technology robotics solutions. The company has built the ROBOX line of educational robotic kits for K-12 students which includes building blocks, a ‘brain’ and a 3D simulation software which allows the students to build various mechanisms and simulate them in real-life situations. The 400+ hours of activities on ROBOX are mapped to the curriculum of the students from class 6th to 10th (or ages 10-16 years) related to various Science, Technology, Engineering and Math concepts (STEM) that allows students to link the classroom concepts to the activities on ROBOX in a practical way. The offering is bundled with an online learning analytics and assessment platform.
Singapore is an attractive market for Jay Robotix as it’s an early adopter of education technologies and also a gateway to South-East Asia. For engineering students, Jay Robotix offers a Robotic ‘Centre of Excellence (COE)’ lab installation with various mechatronic and robotic platforms that allow students to learn concepts related to mechanics, electronics, embedded systems, cloud computing, mobile applications, etc. The company has recently partnered with iCarnegie, an affiliate of the Carnegie Mellon University, USA, to certify Indian students taking the courses in the respective COEs in and around their colleges/universities. In association with Manipal Global Education, the company is also offering online, distance-learning courses with practical applications on its robotic kits.
The company would be utilising the funds raised through CBA primarily for product refinements, marketing and driving sales. Sudhir Reddy, Founder & CEO, said “Our mission has been practical education for all students which allows them to eventually choose the right careers. For example, the RoboGuru software in the ROBOX kit introduces schools students to concepts of programming and physics at a young age and in a gamified form allowing them to learn in a fun way and making them ‘college-ready’. Since all platforms and technologies are developed in-house, we are able to provide this at an affordable price for institutes and students
alike, along with international certifications from partners such as iCarnegie.”
Jay Robotix was started in 2010 and this gives it a good grounding in the market they play in. The annual RoboKid competition that Jay Robotix has been holding since 2013 in Hyderabad on a national level has been a great platform to understand what students and parents really need and what is their buying appetite. Till date, the company has trained more than 15,000 students in the country and has a pipeline of over 25,000 students in the coming year. “We have observed many schools as well as parents, even in developed markets such as USA and Europe, can’t really afford Lego or Vex Robotics kits. Besides, another issue faced is the content is priced additionally, and without curriculum mapping, it is left up to the students or parents to link it to the classroom learning”, Sudhir added. ROBOX is priced as low as one-third of Lego Mindstorm and VexPro.
Website: ROBOX