Chennai-based Skillveri Training Solutions Pvt Ltd, which makes simulators to train workers on various industrial jobs, has raised ₹8 crore in a Series A round from Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and existing investor Ankur Capital.
It had raised about ₹75 lakh in seed funding from Ankur Capital in 2015. In this round, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has put in about ₹6 crore and Ankur Capital the balance.
Skillveri now makes simulators to train workers in welding, and plans to launch simulators in other applications such as painting, paramedical procedures and jewellery making. It will use the money for launching the new simulators, and for product and market development.
Change in strategy
According to Sabarinath Nair, founder and CEO, Skillveri, the company had initially planned to introduce simulators for painting alone. It was re-investing the money it earned in research and development, but found that this strategy was slowing it down.
With the funding now, Sabarinath said Skillveri plans to introduce simulators for new industry segments and get into new markets. Last month, it had exported welding simulators to the UAE, and will be exporting them to a government training centre in Bhutan this month. There will be a big export push, too, with West Asia, East and South Africa, and South-East Asia as good potential markets, especially in the construction and automotive sectors.
He said the company has the ability to quickly map hand skills to the digital form — digital dexterity mapping — and introduce simulators in industry segments where there is good demand for trained and skilled workers.
Founded in 2012, Skillveri was incubated at the Rural Technology Business Incubator at IIT-Madras.
A press release quoted Rema Subramanian, Partner, Ankur Capital, as saying that their participation in the follow-on funding with Michael & Susan Dell Foundation reflected their confidence in Skillveri’s global potential.
