Addverb Technologies plans to build largest mobile robotics plant

Noida based AddverbTechnologies is setting up the world’s largest mobile robotics factory with a capacity to manufacture 0.5 million robots annually, which in terms of size will take on the big Chinese players in the game. The company is leveraging India’s software prowess to build complex robots for the global market and lock horns with global compatitors.

Backed by Reliance Industries, which has invested $132 million for a 54 per cent stake, Addverb Technologies, which was set up in 2016, is aiming to be amongst the top-five mobile robotics manufacturers in the world in the next five years. 

Currently, most of its applications are in the growing material-handling space. But in the next one to one-and-a-half years, Addverb plans to enter two other large growth areas — non-invasive robotics surgery and robot-aided airport baggage handling.

It has already undertaken a pilot with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for using robotics in ultrasound tests under the supervision of a doctor. 

The global market for mobile robots, which can follow instructions and move around, is currently around $5 billion and is expected to grow exponentially. 

Says Satish Shukla, co-founder, Addverb Technologies, “We want to hit revenues of $1 billion in the next five years. We should be amongst the top five in the world in mobile robotics with at least a 10-15 per cent of the global market. We are building the largest mobile robotics factory in the world, similar in size to the Chinese ones, if not bigger. Our aim is to have 60 per cent of the revenues coming from abroad and the rest from India.”

Shukla adds that the company is ready to take on the Chinese, “because we can leverage India’s software 

capability to provide more complex solutions. And software is 40-60 per cent of the cost of a robot.”

Even though only 1500 robots, including mobile robots, automated, guided vehicles and sorting robots, were sold in India in the last financial year, Shukla says that once a pilot is successful, the order from clients goes up by 10-20 times as they typically want to shift their entire operations onto robots. So capacity needs to be built up. 

He reveals that the Addverb factory, which currently has the capacity to manufacture 50,000 robots, is booked beyond 18 months. 

The company’s manufacturing model blueprint which is in the process of being finalised, is going to create one mega factory in Greater Noida for manufacturing products that are required in mass scale. Subsequently, Addverb plans to set up micro factories in locations like North America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe which will help in building 

niche robots for customised solutions in particular geographical areas.   

Shukla says that the company already has over 100 big clients, including Amazon, Flipkart, ITC, Unilever, Marico, Go Fresh in the UK, PepsiCo in southeast Asia, amongst others. It has recently set up sales offices in the US, Netherlands, Australia and Singapore.  

Unlike other startups, the company does not burn cash, says Shukla, so the funding is enough for the next three financial years. Hence, the focus is not on valuation as Addverb regards Reliance not only as an investor, but as a strategic partner. For instance, Reliance has over 1000 warehouses for its different businesses, from grocery, clothing to refineries. It is also leveraging Reliance’s 5G foray to build solutions which can be enabled by high data speeds. Moreover, the company sees new opportunities in areas like renewable energy for robotics.

To be globally competitive, Addverb has already reached localisation levels of around 60-80 per cent. It builds the hardware as well as the embedded software of robots, a large part of the electronics, PCB cards with intelligence and control over the IP and all the mechanical parts as well. Components like sensors, which are dominated by a few manufacturers, are imported.