A made-in-India fan that the Prime Minister recognised — Atomberg's Gorilla Fan
Atomberg Technologies Pvt. Ltd., an India-based smart appliance and hardware company, won the National Entrepreneurship Award 2017 in the Renewables and Energy Efficiency Category, and even received recognition from the Prime Minister and Niti Aayog as ‘Champions of Change’ in the startup ecosystem.
Founded by IIT Bombay graduates Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das in 2012, Atomberg was invited by the Prime Minister and Niti Aayog in the “Champions of Change” event where the Prime Minister interacted with a select few startups. They were also later initiated into the Working Group on Energy Efficiency constituted by Niti Aayog.
Atomberg's new fan, the "Gorilla fan" is a Made-in-India initiative to deliver on improved energy efficiency using applied-technology features. It is a smart home solution which reduces power bill since it consumes 28 W of energy in comparison to the typical 75 W by a ceiling fan. In addition to that, its buyers have an option to control the fan functioning at convenience through a smart remote. The company claims that it has the highest air delivery efficiency in the market. A normal household can save up to Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 per year per fan. Manoj Meena, the Founder of Atomberg Technology, says,
It is definitely a proud moment for us. Our joint efforts to develop a solution which is both smart and energy-efficient is gaining a solid ground. Having said that, we have a long way to go and by that I mean that we are still waiting to realise our ultimate goal and noble ambitions. There are so many houses across our country which do not have a fan at home. With remarkably improved energy efficiency and new ways to technologise our initiative, we are hopeful of achieving greater benefits for our society in general.
Since launching the product in 2015, more than 100,000 fans have been sold — of which, over 20,000 were sold through e-commerce websites like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. In addition, more than 7,000 Gorilla fans have been sold through the Demand Side Management Programme in Mumbai in association with Tata Power, thus expanding the market reach.
Gorilla Fans are also being used by reputed companies like ITC, Infosys, Tata Power, Hyatt Hotels, Aditya Birla Group, Raymonds, Indian Railways, Madura Coats, IIIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, Bharat Electronics Limited, Power Grid, and Hindustan Sanitaryware, etc.
The smart household appliances market has been witnessing steady growth, but there is still a huge and untapped market potential, which needs continued investment and attention. The market size of ceiling fans (product) is estimated to be around Rs 6,000 crore, with more than four million fans sold across India.
The 110-member Atomberg team raised a pre-series A funding of $1M from IDFC-Parampara. The core founding team comprises IIT and IIM graduates with varied experience in management consulting, operations and design in companies like Cognizant, Mercedes, and Philips. The company continues to hire industry experts with experience in sales, manufacturing, and design.