[Funding alert] Robotics firm Miko raises Rs 50 Cr from IvyCap, others

Robotics company Miko has announced a Rs 50 crore fundraise led by IvyCap Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investors like Chiratae Ventures, YourNest Capital, and Keshav Murugesh, Former Chairman of NASSCOM.  

The company said the funding raised will be used for product development and to strengthen global alliances as the company builds a strong global brand.

Miko was started in 2015 by IIT Bombay graduates Sneh R Vaswani, Prashant V Iyengar, and Chintan S Raikar, along with global experts in engineering, mathematics, design, and education.

The robotics company has now scaled its user base to more than 140 countries globally and has witnessed a 3X jump through the pandemic. The company said it is witnessing a massive demand during the pandemic as parents are hunting for positive ways to engage kids in lockdown globally. Miko is also aiming for a portfolio of new products in the coming years. 

Commenting on the funding, Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures Advisors, said,

“We have closely seen Sneh and team build Miko and are delighted to witness such a solid technology and product company built in India and catering to global markets. The global play and sound fundamentals have ensured the company's consistent growth trajectory.” 

After the success of the first generation of Miko, the company launched Miko 2, a robot that can see, hear, sense, express, talk, recognise faces, remember names, identify moods, initiate a conversation and learn from its own environment to intuitively develop a bond with a child.

Miko 2 cuts across a complex need-gap of education, technology, and entertainment, and hence is an enabler in effective parenting. 

Sudhir Sethi, Founder and Chairman of Chiratae Ventures, shared,

“The company has showcased consistent  month on month capital efficient growth amidst the pandemic. Miko is on track to grow to a $100M revenue company with multiple global products in two years from now.” 

The company recently opened the  Miko platform to allow child-focused content partners and developers to port their content on Miko and make it available to families on subscription.

“Miko has demonstrated strong retention metrics along with consistent and sustainable growth. We are  clocking nearly a million interactions every 48-72 hours and are on track to register 500 percent YoY growth in revenue. We are elated to welcome IvyCap Ventures in our journey and highly appreciate the support from all existing  investors,” said Sneh R Vaswani, Co-founder and CEO, Miko.