Deeptech Startup Doppelio Bags Funding To Help Enterprises Automate Applications Testing

IoT automation platform Doppelio has raised $1.2 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round from Axilor Ventures & Mela Ventures. 

Founded in 2019 by Gaurav Johri, Sharmila Saha, and Rajesh Kathirvelu, the startup caters to a diverse range of clients hailing from several industries including automotive, industrial engineering, manufacturing and connected products. Further, Doppelio enables IoT applications testing for any device, protocol, and scenario. 

It offers testing applications without any physical device intervention. Doppelio’s device virtualisation, simulation and test automation features allow clients to test comprehensively with speed and reduce dependence on field trials. With Doppelio’s features, a wide range of functionalities can be tested including FOTA, remote command and control, and tested for performance with up to a million devices.

“As connected products proliferate in the coming years, we expect Doppelio to become a critical piece in the IoT ecosystem, We are excited to have Mela and Axilor as investors and this funding will deepen our investments in the product and go-to-market,” said Gaurav Johri, CEO, Doppelio.

Commenting on the future of IoT automation, Ganapathy Venugopal, cofounder & CEO, Axilor Ventures said, “Axilor and Doppelio share a common vision of creating category-leading solutions for large global enterprises. IoT devices are becoming pervasive but testing them is still hard.”

In India, deeptech has seen a major push by rapid digitisation. In fact, last year, Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced the launch of a Digital India Innovation Fund to support the deeptech startups in the country. 

Further, funds encouraging deeptech startups are also coming up to support their growth journey. Recently, pi Ventures which backs AI and deeptech startups, has received commitments of INR 100 Cr or 15% of the corpus from SIDBI-managed Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS). 

The top five deeptech features–AI, IoT, Big Data & Analytics, Blockchain, and AR/VR have grown at 50% CAGR in the last decade, per NASSCOM. The report further states that more than 4000 people are employed across 14 potential deeptech unicorns in India and the headcount is expected to double by 2026.

Writing for Inc42, Java Capital’s cofounder and partner, Vinod Shankar noted, “We may see a slowdown in funding for the sector in the short term, but deep tech companies will do well in the medium to long term because they are doing fundamental innovation with atoms (hardware) rather than bits (software).”

Last year, online grocery giant BigBasket also entered the deeptech segment with the acquisition of Agrima Infotech. As part of the deal, BigBasket would leverage the startup’s computer vision technology platform, Psyight, at the self-checkout counters of its retail stores.

Also, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced last year that the government will promote thematic funds for blended finance with the government share being limited to 20% and the funds being managed by private fund managers, for the ‘sunrise’ sectors including deeptech and others. The initiative is expected to be joined by major players which, in turn, will ensure more capital flow for startups in the sunrise sectors.