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Our Bureau

Bangalore, June 27

Sasken Communication Technologies and IDG Ventures India have floated a joint venture ConnectM Technology Solutions with a $6-million investment. It will offer a range of services from fleet management, telematics, remote asset management, energy usage optimisation, pilferages and theft tracking, to after market services and remote monitoring.

IDG Ventures India is a $150 million venture capital fund investing in technology-related product and services companies. It is part of the $1 billion IDG Ventures. Sasken is a Bangalore-based embedded telecom solutions firm.

“ConnectM will provide one more axis of growth for Sasken,” said Mr Rajiv Mody, Chairman and CEO, Sasken Communication Technologies Ltd, in a release issued by the company. He will join its board as the Chairman.

The company will be led by Mr Kumar Prabhas as CEO. He was previously President (Services) at Sasken. The firm expects its first customer engagement by the end of this year.

Also joining the ConnectM board are Mr Sudhir Sethi, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, IDG Ventures; Dr G. Venkatesh, Executive Director & Corporate Chief Technology Officer/Chief Strategy Officer, Sasken; and Mr T.C. Meenakshisundaram, Executive Director, IDG Ventures.

“The spin out is the result of a true collaborative partnership between Sasken and IDG Ventures India. ConnectM is a niche player in the growing remote diagnostic and monitoring market. It will enable clients to benefit from increased availability through remote after market applications enabling predictive maintenance powered by Machine 2 Machine (M2M),” said Mr Sudhir Sethi, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, IDG Ventures India.

“Our first set of service offering being launched targets aerospace as well as railroad and auto sectors. We are targeting airlines, MRO companies, aircraft engine makers, power generation turbine manufactures including wind energy,” said Mr Prabhas. The addressable market for ConnectM is expected to be $13 billion by 2010.

More Stories on : Alliances & Joint Ventures | Software

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