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Zoho Corp, the Chennai-headquartered global technology company, has invested ₹20 crore in Genrobotics, a Thiruvananthapuram-based startup building robotics and artificial intelligence-powered solutions for social issues such as hazardous working conditions.
Zoho's investment will assist Genrobotics, winner of BusinessLine Changemaker Awards, in its efforts to end manual scavenging in India and provide safety and dignity to workers in the sanitation sector, and the oil and gas industry.
Genrobotics' primary offering is the Bandicoot robot, which helps clean confined spaces such as sewers manholes, sewer wells, stormwater manholes, oily water sewers and stormwater sewers in refineries. Currently, smart cities, urban local bodies, refineries, multinational companies, townships and housing colonies across 14 states have deployed Bandicoot robots, ending the practice of cleaning workers entering manholes.
Healthcare venture
Genrobotics recently ventured into healthcare with a robot-assisted gait training solution — G Gaiter — for paraplegics. Genrobotics products, part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, are completely designed and manufactured in the country, a company release said.
"Nurturing a thriving deep-tech ecosystem in India is one of Zoho's priorities, and the investment in Genrobotics is a continuation of that commitment," said Sridhar Vembu, CEO and co-founder of Zoho. Such technological competencies and critical know-how locally can foster sustainable growth across key sectors like industrial manufacturing, healthcare, and energy, in turn making the country economically stronger and self-reliant, he added.
Vimal Govind MK, CEO and co-founder of Genrobotics, said the investment from Zoho will help in expanding the company’s advanced R&D infrastructure, build large-scale production facilities, hire more talent, increase exports to ASEAN markets and expand global footprint.
To end manual scavenging in India, more than one lakh robots are needed. Bandicoot is a viable alternative, combining human and artificial intelligence, he added.
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