The week that was: From the rise of robots in Rebel Foods’ kitchens to the launch of iSeed II
This week, we also bring you how healthcare solutions provider Hanuman, bringing emergency care home, and the rise of Indian cybersecurity startups.
The future of work entails humans and robots working together. Rebel Foods believes that it was born of the marriage of great food and innovative tech.
At present, the largest cloud kitchen restaurant chain in India, the company began life as a brick-and-mortar business with one brand, Faasos, in 2011.
Wokie by Rebel Foods, a automated wok in their dark kitchens
It soon transitioned all outlets to cloud kitchens, and now runs more than 350 cloud kitchens with popular brands such as Behrouz Biryani, Mandarin Oak, Oven Story, and Sweet Truth in India, and a clutch of other brands in the UAE, South East Asia, and the UK.
Modern technology, including computer vision and AI, is helping chefs at Rebel Foods to automate the process of cooking, courtesy of the intelligent equipment — a robotic wok and dum machine, automated tawas, and auto fryers.
AngelList India Head Utsav Somani — who is responsible for bringing the Naval Ravikant and Babak Nivi co-founded startup investment platform to India — is launching iSeed II. The $15 million micro-fund supports over 50 Indian tech startup founders, helping them access venerable names from Silicon Valley — many of whom are backing the fund.
The launch of iSeed II — which comes less than a year after the launch of iSeed I in May 2020 — is buoyed by Utsav’s conviction that the next decade truly belongs to Indian tech entrepreneurs, and that any company that leverages technology will stay ahead of the crowd.
Utsav
Dr Niraj Jha, along with his friend Santosh Singh, launched Medicvisor Pvt Ltd — better known by its brand name Hanuman — in 2020. The Patna-based last-mile delivery service provider offers immediate healthcare solutions, including ambulance services, diagnostic services, and home healthcare.
Dr Niraj Jha says the emergency care system is weak across the country. For example, we mostly find junior doctors in the emergency care section, but we need the most senior doctors in place because one doesn’t know what case would come in.
Recent data breaches in JustDial, Unacademy, JusPay, Dr Reddy’s, Lupin, Bigbasket, and BuyUCoin, among others, have put a question mark on the data security in India, and there have been calls to implement strict laws for cybersecurity. This, in turn, has opened the gates to an uncharted and untouched opportunity for Indian cybersecurity startups.
As Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, indicates, India’s global leadership position in the IT services space, and availability of a large talent pool, owing to top tech institutes in the country, has helped many domestic cybersecurity startups to emerge and flourish.
Edited by Suman Singh
