Robotics firm Miko raises Rs 50 cr to fund product, geographical expansion

The firm now has a user base in more than 140 countries, and their engagement rose three times through the pandemic

Robotics firm Miko on Wednesday said it raised Rs 50 crore led by IvyCap Ventures, existing investors, Chiratae Ventures, YourNest Capital and former chairman of National Association of Software and Services Companies Keshav Murugesh.

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

Miko is also aiming for a portfolio of new products in the coming years. It now has a user base in more than 140 countries globally, and their engagement rose three times through the pandemic. The company is witnessing a massive surge in demand amidst the pandemic as parents are hunting for positive ways to engage kids in lockdown globally.

“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 per cent year-on-year 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.

After the success of the first generation of Miko, the company launched Miko 2, a robot that can see, hear, sense, express, talk, recognize faces, remember names, identify moods, initiate a conversation and learn from its own environment to intuitively develop a bond with a child. 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. Subscription revenue is witnessing the fastest growth. The company expects nearly 50 per cent of topline to be subscription revenue over the next three years.  

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

“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,” said  Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures Advisors Pvt Ltd.

Sudhir Sethi, Founder and Chairman of Chiratae Ventures said, “The company has showcased consistent month on month capital efficient growth amidst the pandemic. Miko is on track to grow to a $100 million revenue company with multiple global products in two years from now.”