[Funding alert] Robotics startup Emotix raises Rs 18.6 Cr led by Chiratae Ventures

Emotix, a robotics startup and developer of India’s first companion robot “Miko”, has raised Rs 18.6 crore in Seed round from Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures), YourNest India VC Fund, and Technology Venture Fund, according to RoC filings accessed by YourStory. 

As per the filings, the investors have been allotted 2,794 Seed 1 compulsorily convertible preference shares (Seed 1 CCPS) on May 15, each at a premium of Rs 66,419 per share.

Of the total, Chiratae has invested Rs 9.08 crore, while YourNest infused Rs 8.26 crore, and Technology Venture Fund poured in Rs 1.23 crore.

The company plans to use the funding for R&D and new product development.

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Previously, the company secured $2 million in pre-Series A round led by Chiratae Ventures and YourNest in April 2018. Existing Angel Investors, Keshav Murugesh, Group Chief Executive Officer of WNS Global Services, and many potential investors also participated in the funding round.

Emotix was founded in October, 2014 by three IIT Bombay post-graduates Chintan Raikar, Prashant Iyengar, and Sneh Vaswani to address the social needs of Indian parents and children. With a team of engineers, mathematicians, artists, and neuro-psychologists, the company created Miko - an artificial intelligence based companion robot capable of engaging, educating, and entertaining children above five years. Miko helps them learn, play, and develop skills.

Currently, it has two products, Miko 1.0 and Miko 2.0, priced at Rs 19,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively.

Last month, Chiratae Ventures also led a $120 million Series D round in Bengaluru-based health and fitness startup Cure.fit, along with Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, and Oaktree Capital. New investors Epiq Capital, Unilever Ventures, Innoven Capital, and Kotak Mahindra Bank also participated in the funding round. Earlier this month, the fund participated in a Series C round of Chennai-based speech recognition startup, Uniphore Software Systems.

(Edited by Megha Reddy)

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