New Delhi-based video analytics startup Wobot Intelligence, that uses artificial intelligence to monitor human activity recorded via CCTV cameras of businesses, said it has raised USD 2.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Sequoia Capital India.
In April last year, Wobot had raised an undisclosed seed round of funding from Titan Capital.
The company will use the funds for global expansion, strengthen its technology platform, and bring on board executive-level talent to help it in the expansion of sales and marketing as well as accelerate product development.
Started by Adit Chhabra, Tapan Dixit, and Tanay Dixit, Wobot works with companies in sectors such as healthcare, construction, manufacturing, pharmacy lab, among others to monitor employee movement. The company said, its proprietary technology can be plugged into any kind of camera installed in factories, labs, or offices to track and report any kind of anomaly.
The company said that in addition to automating the video-monitoring space which is currently a human-led activity, it leverages AI and deep learning to understand the data from monitoring these cameras.
Chhabra, co-founder and CEO of Wobot, said the market for CCTV installations would grow faster in the post-COVID-19 era.
“COVID-19 era has made businesses realize the value proposition of remote monitoring. Pre COVID-19, hygiene and safety of the workforce were a good-to-have, now, it is a must-have and companies are appreciating the importance of automation. For any future business continuity plans, video analytics will play a huge role and Wobot is well-positioned to take advantage of this opportunity,” Chhabra said.
In 2018, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) signed up with the company to monitor the food production process across its several base kitchens. Wobot claims to have over 10,000 installations for companies such as CultFit, Rebel Foods, Smartworks, Travel Food Services, Blue Tokai, among others.
With a presence in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the company now aims to enter the US market. It said it would target companies operating in the healthcare and manufacturing sectors.
Ashish Agrawal, Principal, Sequoia Capital India said, “Computer vision has seen tremendous advances in recent years, resulting in widespread adoption for varied enterprise needs. Sequoia India is excited to partner with the Wobot team as they build a global SaaS business serving this enterprise need.”