Emotix, the robotics startup founded by IIT-Bombay graduates Sneh Vaswani, Prashant Iyengar, and Chintan Raikar, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. The startup's flagship product is Miko, India's first companion robot. The round was led by Chiratae Ventures (previously IDG Ventures India), YourNest Venture Capital, investor Bruno Raschle’s family office, and a group of angel investors comprising technology evangelists.

With this round of funding, Miko is looking for global expansion in North America, Middle East, and the UK. The funding will also help with new product development, and further R&D in areas of emotional and artificial intelligence.

Speaking on the funding, Sneh said in a press statement,

“Our company has grown over the past five years. We’re excited to bring our AI-driven playful learning robots to international markets as a way to meet the needs of today's parents who seek a positive and trusted gateway of technology, which also caters to the learning and developmental needs of children.”

Founded in 2015, Miko's flagship product Miko 2.0 is a learning robot that engages, entertains, and educates children. The product was launched after the success of their first generation of Miko. Miko 2 can hear, see, sense, talk, express, recognise faces, identify moods, initiate a conversation, and learn from its own environment to intuitively develop a bond with a child. The product also has parental controls to ensure safety and security.

Sudhir Sethi, Founder and Chairman of Chiratae Ventures, said

"Our firm is thrilled to reinvest in the team at Miko. With success under its belt in India and the Middle East, Miko is on its way to entering 20 million global homes by 2023.”

With a presence in the US and India, the company has over 120 employees. Currently, it offers two products, Miko 1.0 and Miko 2.0, priced at Rs 19,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively.

Sunil Goyal, Managing Director of Yournest Venture Capital, said, “The team at Miko has successfully achieved all of its milestones over the past few years. The team’s execution skills and immense consumer obsession has reaffirmed our faith in their vision. We’re more than happy to reinvest in this round.”

The company secured $2 million in a pre-Series A round led by Chiratae Ventures and YourNest in April 2018. Existing Angel Investors, Keshav Murugesh, Group Chief Executive Officer of WNS Global Services, and many potential investors also participated in the funding round.

(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)