Latest news with #ChirataeVentures
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Frinks AI, a manufacturing AI startup by IIT Hyderabad alumni, raises $5.4m led by Prime Ventures
BANGALORE, India, May 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Frinks AI, a deep-tech startup founded by IIT Hyderabad alumni, has raised $5.4 million in a Pre-Series A round led by Prime Venture Partners, bringing its total funding to $6.25 million. The company is building next-generation Vision AI systems that help manufacturers automate and elevate quality control on their production lines. The round also saw participation from existing investor Chiratae Ventures, along with Navam Capital and Ashok Atluri, Founder of Zen Technologies. Frinks AI is additionally backed by prominent industry leaders including Mr. S Ramadorai (former MD & CEO, TCS), Dr. V Sumantran (former Executive Director, Tata Motors), Dr. Tarun Ramadorai (Prof Imperial College of London), and Dr. Gopichand Katragadda (former Group CTO, Tata Sons), who continue to support the company as strategic investors and advisors. What began as an ambitious idea in the research labs of IIT Hyderabad is now a transformative force in industrial AI. Founded by Aditya Agrawal, Dharmgya Sharma, and Subhra S. Bhattacherjee, Frinks AI is developing foundational vision models — highly generalizable AI systems purpose-built for visual inspection and quality control in manufacturing. 'With ongoing supply chain disruptions and rising global trade tensions, we're seeing a strong push toward localized manufacturing as countries prioritize internal consumption,' said Aditya Agrawal, CEO and Co-founder of Frinks AI. 'This marks the beginning of a new industrial revolution—one powered by advanced technologies that drive higher productivity and cost efficiency. Frinks AI is at the forefront of this transformation, helping manufacturers worldwide become more competitive, resilient, and future-ready.' Frinks AI's Vision AI platform is already in use by leading manufacturers across automobile, consumer goods, building materials, and medical devices sectors. Customers have reported measurable improvements in product quality, fewer defects, and major efficiency gains on the factory floor. With the latest funding, Frinks AI aims to scale its platform across global markets, invest aggressively in R&D, and expand its presence in the US which is a key market for such technologies. To accelerate growth, the company is actively exploring partnerships with automation companies and OEM's for a joint go-to-market initiative. These foundational models are designed to overcome long-standing reliability and generalisation challenges in industrial machine vision, by offering superior intelligence and greater adaptability. 'Visual inspection in manufacturing has been around for 50 years but owing to rule-based approach, its applicability has been limited to <15% scenarios typical on the assembly line. Frinks has leveraged advancements in image processing, AI compute to develop manufacturing specific machine vision models. By combining foundational models with in-house fine-tuning using a small set of images, Frinks is able to guarantee 99.99% accuracy to its customers. It is our pleasure to partner with Aditya, Dharmagya and Subhra in expanding this 10x product to India as well as taking it global,' said Brij Bhushan, Partner at Prime VP. As factories embrace AI-led production, Frinks AI is enabling them to achieve higher quality, lower costs, and faster turnaround. Powered by five years of deep research, its foundational vision models automate the cognitive layer of manufacturing, starting with visual inspection and quality control. With a no-code platform, manufacturers can easily customize workflows, integrate with existing systems, and scale across lines. Today, Frinks AI's intelligence runs on over 1,000 production lines globally across automotive, consumer goods, medical devices, cement, and steel boosting throughput, reducing defects, and ensuring consistent quality. Photo: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Frinks AI
Entrepreneur
09-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Three Investor Directors Exit GlobalBees Board Amid Leadership Changes
Representatives from Chiratae Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Premji Invest have stepped down from GlobalBees' board, according to the YourStory media sources. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. GlobalBees, the Thrasio-style roll-up commerce venture backed by FirstCry, has witnessed the exit of three key investor board members, signaling continued shifts in its leadership and governance structure. According to a report by YourStory, Sudhir Kumar Sethi of Chiratae Ventures, Harsha Kumar of Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Kaveesh Chawla of Premji Invest have stepped down from the company's board. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Chawla exited the board in September 2023, while Sethi left prior to the recent announcement of CEO Nitin Agarwal's resignation. Both Sethi and Kumar had joined the GlobalBees board in July 2021, after participating in its USD 150 million Series A funding round led by FirstCry. The departures are reportedly in line with compliance protocols linked to SEBI's Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) regulations, which are designed to prevent insider trading based on confidential corporate developments. "Premji and Chiratae are shareholders of FirstCry, and they continue to be part of FirstCry. Their exit is to comply with UPSI rules," said a person aware of the matter. A spokesperson for Premji Invest confirmed the development, stating, "As a matter of general practice, Premji Invest does not hold Board positions in listed companies or their subsidiaries. In line with this principle, Premji Invest had stepped down from the Board of FirstCry and GlobalBees, a subsidiary of FirstCry, several months ago." These changes come on the heels of significant executive churn at GlobalBees. CEO and Director Nitin Agarwal resigned last month, citing personal reasons. Last year, Chief Business Officer Damandeep Soni also departed, later joining AstroTalk in March 2025. Currently, Anuj Jain, formerly SVP of Marketing at FirstCry, is leading GlobalBees' operations. Founded in 2021 by Supam Maheshwari and Agarwal, GlobalBees operates a portfolio of D2C brands across categories such as personal care, fashion accessories, and fitness. The company recorded a consolidated turnover of INR 1,209 crore in FY23. Just last month, FirstCry approved an infusion of INR 146 crore into GlobalBees, to be disbursed over 12 months in multiple tranches.
