[Funding alert] AR/VR startup AjnaLens raises $1.5M from Maharashtra Defence and Aerospace Venture Fund, others
AR/VR startup AjnaLens designs and manufactures AI-powered mixed-reality glasses for defence, education, and enterprise customers.
![[Funding alert] AR/VR startup AjnaLens raises $1.5M from Maharashtra Defence and Aerospace Venture Fund, others](https://images.yourstory.com/cs/wordpress/2018/02/yourstory-ajnalens-2.jpg?mode=crop&crop=faces&ar=2%3A1&format=auto&w=1920&q=75)
(Dimension NXG Pvt. Ltd.) announced that it has raised $1.5 million in a Pre-Series-A funding round led by Maharashtra Defence and Aerospace Venture Fund (MDAVF) and HNI investors like Nailesh Khimji, Chirayu Khimji, Jay Jesrani, and Mohsin Group.
Founded in November 2014 by Pankaj Raut, Abhishek Tomar and Abhijit Patil, the startup develops mixed reality glasses for defence, education, and enterprise customers.
The team at Dimension NXG
The startup will primarily use the funds to enhance its defence offering, manufacturing headsets, improving technology, and product capabilities. Apart from this it intends to invest this fund for talent acquisition and market expansion.
AjnaLens Co-founder and CEO Pankaj Raut stated,
“The tech industry is evolving at a rapid pace and the government as well as the educational institutes are also embracing this change."
Amey Belorkar, Vice President, IDBI Capital Markets and Securities Ltd. and Investment Manager of MDAVF, said, “Dimension has developed a high- quality MR product for the defence sector – AjnaBolt. It is a solution for enhancing the capability and empowering our armed forces and internal security personnel. In addition, the product also has varied applications.”
Before this round, Dimension NXG had raised angel funding from Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Roots Ventures Founder Japan Vyas, Kajaria Ceramics’ Joint MD Chetan Kajaria, Bhatia Brothers’ Director Manish Bhatia, and Jay Mountain Lion Partners’ Jay Jesrani.
Previous investors Jay Jesrani, Nailesh Khimji and Chirayu Khimji of Khimji Ramdas Group (seed investors) reinvested in the current round.
Nailesh Khimji of Khimji Ramdas Group stated, "I am already seeing interesting use cases of AjnaLens in our business training, operations, and maintenance. AjnaLens will surely have path-breaking use cases in defence and medical areas."
Maharashtra Defence and Aerospace Venture Fund is a Category II - Alternative Investment Fund registered with Sebi. The fund intends to invest in sustainable enterprises in the areas of defence, aerospace, and its allied sectors that are domiciled in Maharashtra.
(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)