Marine robotics Deep tech startup EyeROV raises INR 10 Crore in Pre-Series A led by Unicorn India Ventures

• EyeROV is the fastest growing marine robotics deeptech company specialising in underwater drone technology
• The Company aims to revolutionize industries like maritime, defense, energy and infra through its cutting edge unmanned technologies
• The company has successfully introduced India’s first commercial underwater drones/ROVs and launched an unmanned surface vehicle (USV), providing solutions in India and the MENA region
• Funds raised will be used to expand in international markets and develop advanced marine robotic products

• The company aims to triple their revenue by the end of this Financial Year and boost sales in both Indian and international markets

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Kerala/Mumbai, 13th August 2024: EyeROV, a marine robotics deep-tech startup providing products and solutions in the field of underwater domain has raised INR 10 Crore ($1.2M) in a Pre-Series A round led by Unicorn India Ventures. The funds deployed will further strengthen EyeROV’s geographical expansion into international markets and develop advanced marine robotics products and solutions to augment EyeROV’s current offerings.

Founded in 2016 by IIT Alumnus Johns T Mathai and Kannappa Palaniappan P, EyeROV is a pioneering deep-tech company specialising in marine robotics and AI. The Company aims to revolutionise industries such as energy, maritime, defence, and infrastructure through its cutting-edge unmanned technologies.

The company has successfully introduced India’s first commercial underwater drones/ROVs and launched an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) that is providing solutions in both India and the MENA region. EyeROV also possesses unique capabilities for inspecting very long tunnels and pipelines and has advanced integration capabilities for specialised payloads.

Commenting on the investment, Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, says “Marine robotics is a highly complex subject and developing a drone to inspect underwater infrastructure requires unmanned tech built with precision. Unicorn India has a strong DNA of a deep tech investor as we understand the tech both hardware and software aspect. As we have a strong track record of bringing out highly innovative companies from sectors that are still emerging or relatively new, we believe EyeROV’s products and solutions have a global application.”

EyeROV has seen consistent revenue growth over the past 24 months Year on Year and launched multiple new products and expanded to new industry verticals and geographies and is a leader in underwater ROV-based inspections in India’s hydro sector.

With strong customer interest in India, the MENA region, and Europe, particularly in the infrastructure, power, and oil & gas sectors, EyeROV is strengthening its market presence and developing new R&D capabilities to bring unique solutions to the market.

EyeROV is also creating specialised solutions for infrastructure inspections and collaborating with defence R&D labs and forces through the Innovations for Defence Excellence (IDEX) initiative to develop maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) solutions.

Johns T Mathai, CEO, EyeROV says, “With this funding, EyeROV will be able to scale up its sales, R&D, and operations much faster. We have developed unique, differentiated solutions for underwater infrastructure inspections that have been successfully validated in the Indian market and are now ready for global expansion. Unicorn India has supported similar hardware/robotics companies in the past, and we believe this partnership will be highly beneficial.”

In FY 2024, EyeROV secured multiple contracts domestically and internationally, expanding its reach through partnerships in India and the GCC region. The company serves esteemed clients such as Tata, Adani, BPCL, DRDO, and the Indian Coast Guard, having completed over 100 underwater inspections.

EyeROV plans to triple its revenue by the end of the financial year by boosting sales in both domestic and international markets. The company is set to undertake more projects in oil & gas, maritime, and infrastructure sectors, and is advancing its efforts to supply products to the Indian defence sector.

Kannappa Palaniappan P, CTO, EyeROV, adds, “This funding will accelerate the development of new products, which have been validated by market studies and numerous industry inquiries.”

About EyeROV:

EyeROV, a pioneering deep-tech company specialising in marine robotics and AI, aims to revolutionise industries such as energy, maritime, defence, and infrastructure through cutting-edge unmanned technologies. The company has successfully introduced India’s first commercial underwater drones/ROVs and launched an unmanned surface vehicle (USV), providing solutions in both India and the MENA region. EyeROV also possesses unique capabilities for inspecting very long tunnels and pipelines and has advanced integration capabilities for specialised payloads. The company is headquartered in Kochi, Kerala, India, and currently offers its solutions globally.

About Unicorn India Ventures:

Started in 2016 by Bhaskar Majumdar and Anil Joshi, Unicorn India Ventures is a technology focused early-stage venture fund that invests capital in emerging and visionary startups. Unicorn India Ventures launched its first fund with a corpus of Rs 100 crore From its first

Fund, UIV has invested in 17 companies like SmartCoin, Open Bank, Sequretek, Pharmarack, Genrobotics, Clootrack, FutureCure to mention some. The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) was more than 60 percent year over year. The Fund has emerged as the best performing early stage fund in India with the stellar exits provided by the fund to its LPs.

Fund II is a Rs 300 crore fund launched in 2020 that has invested in 20 companies so far like Gamerji, ForeignAdmits, Probus, Daalchini, Esmito, Finin. Most of the portfolio is scaling up fast and has had several uprounds. 

Unicorn India Ventures has recently announced its first close of Rs 1000 crore Fund III. The first close reached at Rs 225 crore. With this Fund, UIV aims to build a portfolio of 25 startups that are focused on global SaaS and digital platforms. From the sector’s perspective, the Fund is looking at newer sectors of climate tech, agritech, spacetech and the semiconductor ecosystem. Unicorn has already made 4 investments from Fund III.