Chennai-based biotech firm MicroGO has raised ₹6 crore in pre-Series A round of funding from a clutch of angel investors. The company, however, did not disclose the names of investors.

The company said the funds will be used primarily for strengthening its sales and marketing activities.

“Initially, we were in the research and development (R&D) phase so we managed through small fundraising and government grants, etc. Now, we are in a very important juncture to scale our business. We are focussing all our energy in increasing the outreach of our products and solutions,” Rachna Dave, Founder and CEO of MicroGO told BusinessLine

Dave, who holds a doctorate in Microbiology at New York University, worked as a scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Kalpakkam in Chennai. In 2016, Dave quit her job to start MicroGO along with Deepa Avinash and Deepthi Subbaraya. The idea was to build preventive solutions to tackle increasing instances of infectious diseases.  

MicroGo is focussed on solving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) challenges by providing smart and sustainable hygiene and infection control solutions. Its product range includes automated hand-hygiene compliance solutions, raw water treatment, wastewater treatment, surface cleaners and fruits and vegetables treatment. 

In 2020, the company began piloting its technologies with anchor customers and began product commercialisation in 2022. At present, MicroGO’s hygiene-based solutions are used by leading businesses across industries like food & beverages, healthcare, pharma, commercial and residence complexes and hospitality. Its clients include Airport Authority of India, Indian Army, IHCL (TAJ and Vivanta), IRCTC, WayCool Foods, BigBasket, Chettinaad hospitals and Apollo Hospitals.

“Currently, our focus is on six geographies including Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat. These are the places where we are witnessing a lot of traction for our solutions,” Dave said. 

“Till last year, we were only eight people and now we have 35 people. By the end of the next quarter, we want to become a 50-member team and then scale it up to 100 based on our growth,” she added. 

“The pandemic has changed the way people and industry prioritise hygiene and infection control practices. MicroGO has developed disruptive smart solutions and has implemented digital hygiene practices. We are delighted to support a visionary entrepreneur like Rachna, her venture, her team and their vision to break the perception of hygiene practices being an expenditure and turn it into an investment,” a press release quoted the lead investor of the round as saying.  

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