RIL invests in Visual Analytics through NetraDyne

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has intimated the stock exchanges, BSE and NSE, that the company would be investing US$16 million (approximately Rs. 108 crore) in NetraDyne, a US-based visual analytics start-up. The investment will be carried out through RIL’s wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL) in convertible preferential shares of NetraDyne.

NetraDyne, the visual analytic start-up, aims at creating a unique end-to-end IoT solution thereby pushing Deep Learning processing to the edge. It wishes to deliver vision based solutions across various industries by focusing on technologies which use cameras as their main sensory input. NetraDyne was found by Avneesh Agrawal, former Qualcomm India and South Asia President and David Julian, co-founder Mountain View Analytics-a financial investment startup, in September 2015. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California in United States. The start-up is developing deep learning solutions and vision-based analytics which will be targeted at industries such as fleet management, automotive, security and surveillance, as per RIL’s intimation to stock exchange. The company is still in its research stage and is yet to start commercial operations. 50 % of the said investment has already been paid by Reliance to the visual analytics start-up by 31^st May 2016. The remaining 50% will be shared by 31^st May 2017. RIIHL which will be investing in NetraDyne through convertible preferential shares will hold 40% stake in the company once the preference shares are converted. Reliance Industries, which operates India’s largest private-sector refinery, has been actively investing in start-ups and this move is a part of the larger activity. More so, analytics is a buzzing industry and investing in the visual analytics space, which is still a niche, will help RIL continue its efforts to be in the space of innovative technology.