India’s Reliance backs US-based AI startup Exyn in $35 million funding

Reliance has backed the Philadelphia-based AI and robotics startup Exyn, the Indian conglomerate disclosed successful a banal speech filing connected Thursday, making further inroads successful startup backings globally.

Reliance Strategic Business Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has acquired a 23.3% stake successful Exyn for $25 million, the Indian steadfast said.

The Indian firm’s concern is portion of a larger $35 cardinal Series B backing of the Philadelphia startup, which operates a robotic autonomy for complex, GPS-denied environments.

The AI startup “commercialises the highest level of aerial drone autonomy successful the world, Autonomy Level 4 (AL4.) Exyn’s robots are capable to autonomously navigate successful antecedently inaccessible environments without a anterior map, existing infrastructure (GPS, communications, etc.), oregon an relation successful the loop,” according to a statement connected its site.

Reliance, which operates India’s largest retail concatenation arsenic good arsenic the apical telecom relation successful the nation, said it volition find synergies with the startup connected the Indian conglomerate’s initiatives surrounding drone, concern safety, information and robotics areas, portion accelerating “Exyn’s merchandise and exertion improvement crossed aggregate exertion areas and commercialization.”

The startup had a turnover of $4.32 million, $1.83 cardinal and $0.16 cardinal in CY 2021, CY 2020 and CY 2019 respectively, the Indian steadfast added.

Reliance Industries, oregon 1 of its units, has made a bid of investments this year, including hyperlocal transportation startup Dunzo and Google-backed Android lockscreen level Glance.

In March, Reliance Strategic Business Ventures said it planned to put up to $221 cardinal successful U.S. electronics steadfast Sanmina to acceptable up a associated task arsenic the Indian elephantine looks to grow its electronics manufacturing. The associated task aims to make a “world-class” physics manufacturing hub successful India, the 2 said.

Earlier connected Thursday, Reliance said it had agreed to get the India portion of Metro AG for $344 million. Metro, which entered the Indian marketplace astir 2 decades ago, operates 31 wholesale organisation centers crossed the country.

“With our ngo of decreasing the magnitude of injuries and fatalities successful ‘physical’ industries gathering information successful unsafe environments, having this concern volition accelerate Exyn’s interaction and growth. With this caller capital, we volition further grow our worldwide footprint to dramatically amended information for those moving successful unsafe environments astir the satellite and keeping them retired of harm’s way,” Nader Elm, main enforcement of Exyn, said successful a statement Friday.

The communicative was updated with much accusation astir Exyn’s Series B financing round.