Mukesh Ambani's Big New Investment: $132 Million For Robot-Maker
NDTV
Reliance paid $132 million for a majority stake in Addverb Technologies, which uses robots to make e-commerce warehouses and energy production more efficient, the startup's co-founder and chief executive officer said.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited is buying an Indian robotics startup as the conglomerate scales up automation across its businesses, from e-commerce to new energy.
Reliance paid $132 million for a majority stake in Addverb Technologies, which uses robots to make e-commerce warehouses and energy production more efficient, Sangeet Kumar, the startup's co-founder and chief executive officer, said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest person, is investing in technology as competition from rivals such as Amazon.com intensifies in India's booming e-commerce market. Addverb already works in dozens of warehouses across Reliance's empire, including online grocer JioMart, fashion retailer Ajio and internet pharmacy Netmeds, deploying robotic conveyors, semi-automated systems, and pick-by-voice software.
"Reliance has huge plans to implement automation across digital warehouses," said Mr Kumar, 41. "They have plans to expand warehousing to hundreds of locations in the next two years and when you have that scale, only robotic systems can be effective."
