[Funding alert] Industrial IoT startup TagBox raises $3.85M from TVS Motors

TVS Motor Company Limited and its Singapore-based subsidiary have invested $3.85 million in Bengaluru-based industrial IoT startup TagBox, according to the company's filings with market regulator SEBI. The transaction is expected to be completed by May 15.

TagBox, which helps organisations make their supply chains more reliable using IoT based monitoring, machine learning, advanced analytics and and control, said in an accompanying release, that it would invest the funds in R&D for boost their product innovation and expand the presence of their BoxLens and AssetLens platforms worldwide. It is also developing new predictive analytics and automation solutions for a variety of use-cases.

TagBox was started in 2016 by Adarsh Kumar, Saumitra Singh and Sameer Singh after the three of them sensed an opportunity in the cold chain industry, which was then growing at 30 percent a year. Since then, TagBox has developed solutions not just for the cold chain, but to improve the entire supply chain and operations.

The deal also marked the exit of Indian Angel Network (IAN) and IAN Fund from Tagbox. According to a statement from IAN, the two entities "received an exceptional 3X return within 18 months of investment in TagBox". IAN and the IAN Fund had invested Rs 3.5 crore.

Commenting on the funding, Adarsh Kumar, CEO of TagBox, said:

“Organizations across the globe are increasingly adopting IoT and Machine Learning solutions to improve their supply chains and operations. We are excited that TVS Motor’s worldwide operations and experiences will help make our product and value proposition stronger and highly differentiated."

CEO of TVS Motor (Singapore) Rajesh Narasimhan said in the media release,

"We evaluated many companies providing IoT solutions in the Supply Chain and logistics space and found TagBox’s product offerings and solutions to be an unique blend of IoT, Machine Learning and close-loop AI.''

He added that TagBox's aability to help organizations monitor, predict and prevent SKU health risk in the supply chain is a clear differentiator. "We are happy to invest in and strategically partner TagBox as they continue to pursue bottom line impact for Fortune 1000 companies by improving their supply chain processes while leveraging them for our own group businesses. Our current investment in Tagbox is part of the initial set of investments being made in strategically relevant digital startups,” he added.

TagBox says it has already delivered returns to its clients from its IoT-based predictive insights solutions for leading companies in ecommerce, retail, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, dairy and manufacturing both in India and the Asia-Pacific region. "We believe it is now time to scale our product globally," Adarsh added.

Dinesh Goel Lead IAN Investor in Tagbox, added, “We are very pleased with the progress TagBox has made over the last couple of years with our close involvement with the founding team. The quality of founders and their commitment to build a new age IoT-based supply chain solution led them to win several marquee clients and, now, a strategic investment from a leading industrial group such as TVS Motors. A large global market holds potential for them to scale and we wish them continued success.”

TVS Motor is a popular two- and three-wheeler manufacturer, and the flagship company of the USD 8.5 billion TVS Group.  Last month, TVS Motor (Singapore) led the Series A funding round of $7 million in Pune-based industrial IoT platform Altizon.

(This story has been updated to include inputs from Indian Angel Network.)

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