Tracking Robotics Co. Addverb’s Progress Post Reliance Acquisition

After opening its first plant in Noida about two years ago, robotics company Addverb Technologies is all set to establish its second manufacturing plant in India. Ever since Reliance Retail bought about 55% stake in the company, Addverb has been seeing a rapid demand for robots, especially from e-commerce, logistics, and FMCG companies in India and around the world. The company is aiming at a billion dollars in revenue in the next five years and expansion in the international market.

Billion-dollar company in five years

Like the first one, the upcoming Addverb facility too would be in Greater Noida and will manufacture 60,000 shuttle and autonomous-type mobile robots annually. The company has planned the new facility to be spread across 15 acres which will be operational in the next three months. The new unit will significantly reduce the burden on the existing one, which is currently producing 50,000 robots. As co-founder Satish Shukla told the media, the new facility will be dedicated to large-scale manufacturing while the existing one will do specialised manufacturing.

Addverb Technologies was founded in 2016 by Sangeet Kumar, Prateek Jain, Bir Singh, Amit Kumar, and Satish Kumar Shukla under the mentorship of Jalaj Dani, the investor and founder of Asian Paints. In its lifetime, Addverb has offered its products and solutions to several giants like HUL, Reliance, Flipkart, and Amazon. In an earlier interview with AIM, co-founder Sangeet Kumar had said, “In the domestic market, we already have a powerful presence in FMCG, organised retail, e-commerce, grocery, beverage and tyres. For this quarter, we are keen on pharma, electronics, automobiles, airports and hospitals. Many airports are coming up in India, and our mobile robots can help create highly automated, reliable, and flexible baggage handling systems.”

It expanded its global footprint by acquiring customers in North and South Americas, Europe, Australia, and South-East Asia and had established 100% subsidiary companies in USA, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Australia. Currently, 80% of Addverb’s revenue comes from India and the rest from the overseas market. In the next five years, the company hopes to be a billion dollar company with 50-50 revenue from India and overseas markets. The company also wants to pioneer human-robot collaboration and deliver affordable technological solutions.

AI is an important component in Addverb’s operations. As per the founders, the company uses computer vision to  navigate, sense and calculate their reaction. Their AI-enabled robots are trained to handle redundant tasks in fields like inventory management, logistics, and supply chain management.

Reliance’s stake in Addverb

Early this year, Reliance Industries bought a major stake in Addverb for USD 132 million. Additionally, the company placed an USD 1 billion worth order with Addverb. At the time of acquisition, Shukla said that the fund received will be used to build new factories and expand to new markets. “The demand for robots has grown in India. We are also seeing a big demand in Southeast Asia, Australia, the US, and the Middle East," Shukla added. 

The 5G spectrum allocation concluded in August and Reliance is one of the holders. This is not only expected to bring equity but also combine its telecom prowess with Addverb Technologies’ automation solutions. It will give the robotics company an advantage over its contemporaries. Reportedly, Addverb started working with Reliance on automating their warehouse with robots and robots enabled with 5G.

The founders of the company are optimistic about the future of the company, especially after the pandemic that has brought about a shift in consumer habits, like online shopping. They say that in the past 2-3 years, the mobile robotics landscape in India has changed, so much so that the volumes e-commerce companies in India are operating is on par with the US market.