SUMMARY
• Entropik Tech will use the funds to scale its platform Affect Lab 2.0 and expand globally
• It is the first company to get an investment from the $100 Mn BIF portfolio
• Arthavida Ventures, Jitendra Gupta, MD, PayU, and other existing investors also participated in the funding
Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence-based emotion recognition startup Entropik Tech has raised $1.1 Mn in a pre-series A round of funding led by BIF (Bharat Innovation Fund). It is the first company to receive an investment from the $100 Mn BIF portfolio.
IDFC, Parampara Capital, Arthavida Ventures, and Jitendra Gupta, MD of PayU, were co-investors in the funding round.
Other existing investors from Entropik Tech’s previous seed funding round of $200K also participated in the new round. This includes a group of angel investors such as Dileep Bhatt, president of Downstream Operations at JSW Steel and Milind Chaudhary, director of Sea Global Services.
Founded in 2016, Entropik Tech enables companies and brands to track and measure consumers’ cognitive and emotional responses at their point of origin, using technologies such as brainwave mapping, facial coding, and eye tracking.
The startup will use the raised funds to scale its platform, Affect Lab 2.0, launch more IP-based products, and expand its global footprint.
Ashwin Raguraman, partner, BIF, said, “Entropik Tech’s AI technique to interpret emotional states and responses from brainwaves is pathbreaking and has a wide range of uses, from understanding consumer preferences to improving mental health. The possibilities are exciting and we look forward to supporting Entropik Tech in maximising the potential of this disruptive technology.”
Early-stage deep tech and IP-focussed venture fund Bharat Innovation Fund announced the first close of its $100 Mn fund recently. It invests in internet protocol (IP)-driven Indian startups to create breakthrough healthcare, agriculture, renewables, and advanced technology innovations. The BIF fund was instituted by the Centre for Innovation, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad.
Entropik Tech: Using AI To Help Brands Understand Customer Needs
Entropik Tech further plans to deliver innovations such as emotive natural language processing (NLP), chatbots and assistants, emotionally intelligent automotive, and sentiment analysis for human resource management, among others.
Rajan Kumar, founder and CEO, Entropik Tech, said, “Our online SAAS platform Affect Lab 2.0 enables brands to measure subconscious emotional responses to their offerings and create a resonance with their consumers.”
The startup is a part of accelerator programmes such as Accenture Ventures Cohort, Viacom18 VStEP, Plug and Play, and SAP Startup Studio.
Entropik Tech says it has filed multiple patents since its inception and claims to have achieved a 100% revenue growth in the previous quarter.
AI Startups In India
AI is finding widespread usage in our daily lives — think intelligent shopping assistants and helpful conversational bots — and will continue to do so. No wonder Indian startups are tapping its potential across sectors such as ecommerce, fintech, banking, surveillance and customer service, big data, analytics, and more.
Similar to Entropik Tech, Bengaluru-based startup Niki.ai leverages natural language processing and machine learning to enable brands to converse with customers through a chat interface, helping them in shopping for products and services.
Niki.ai last raised its funding from SAP, a global leader in business management software, and existing investor Ronnie Screwvala’s Unilazer Ventures.
