The round also saw participation from existing investor Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India. This brings the total funding at the company to $9.8 million, founder and CEO Sonam Motwani told ET.
The funds will be used to expand its supplier base, establish a robust electronics supply chain, and drive scaling efforts in the United States and Europe, a company statement added.
Serving original equipment manufacturer (OEM) clients across industries such as electric vehicles, consumer electronics and medical devices, Karkhana.io derives only about 5% of its revenues internationally. The figure is expected to reach 30% over the next three years, Motwani said.
Karkhana.io’s technology-enabled platform provides sourcing and contract manufacturing solutions to OEMs, through its manufacturing supplier network in India. It has a network of about 500 micro, small and medium enterprises and about 100 customers.
“Our investors’ trust underscores our commitment to revolutionise manufacturing through technology, offering flexible and scalable solutions. This funding extends beyond growing our platform. It’s a dedication to fortifying India’s MSME ecosystem,” Motwani said.
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“India is emerging as a viable manufacturing destination, leveraging its advantages in value-added precision industries, low-cost skilled labour and supportive government policies,” Bhavani Rana, investment advisor at Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, said.Motwani, an alumnus of IIT Bombay’s aerospace engineering programme, worked at Procter & Gamble for over two years before donning the entrepreneurial hat, first with Rolling Cube in 2016 and then at Karkhana.io in 2018.
“India’s manufacturing MSMEs account for 45% of industrial output and 40% of all exports. While there is a surge in domestic and international demand from OEMs, most small suppliers are poorly equipped to tap into new order flows, market their capabilities and find ways to maximise their capacity utilisation,” said Bala Srinivasa, managing director, Arkam Ventures.
