The Funding Will Be Used To Identify, Incubate And Seed Fund The Startups Pertaining To Connected Transport
Pune-headquartered AutoNebula, India’s only incubator/accelerator that focuses on connected transport, has secured a Category I AIF (alternate investment funding) of $7 Mn (INR 45 Cr). Category I AIFs are SEBI approved fundings that may also include incentives or concessions from the Government of India /SEBI as such funding are understood to bring some positive spillover effects on the economy. The funding was headed by Milestone Trustees along with Sanjay Puri, Chairman and founder of AutoNebula.
Founded by Sanjay Puri in 2016, AutoNebula is India’s only connected vehicle incubator focussing on startups disrupting the global mobility space. The incubator focuses on startups working on LIDAR, RADAR, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and autonomous vehicles.
With its offices in the US, Bengaluru, and Pune, AutoNebula expedites two-way access between the US and Indian markets for investment and expansion. Each startup is mentored across business, transport and marketing, among other focus areas. The incubator provides a range of incubation services, including seed funding, workshops conducted by global experts, mentorship and networking.
Commenting on the investment development, Sanjay said, “India is facing a huge issue with transportation and this is only going to increase further with every passing year. The endeavour should be to not only innovate on new ways of transportation but also make sure the existing systems are utilized to the maximum limit benefiting the people. Our team will identify and work with brilliant minds from the country to create a world where multiple high quality and eco-friendly options exist for safe and convenient road travel and transport, and where these options are readily available, highly reliable, and extremely cost-efficient solutions will address problems in the ‘connected transport’ domain.”
AutoNebula has been active in the Indian market since January 2016, reaching out to the relevant community of startups and the ecosystem that includes OEMs, auto industry, mentors, and investors. The current portfolio of the connected transport incubator includes 18 startups such as Trackyo, Streak Helmet, Wiper, Raksha Safedrive and NEARPARK.
