LightMetrics Bags $8.5 Mn From Sequoia To Keep Risky Driving At Bay

Bengaluru-based video telematics platform LightMetrics has raised $8.5 Mn in a Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India.

In a press statement, the startup said it will deploy the funds to expand its engineering, customer success, product, marketing, sales, and analytics teams.

Further, LightMetrics will invest in new products and services to deliver more value to fleets across its operations. The funds will also be used to explore allied opportunities like auto insurance. 

Founded in 2015 by Soumik Ukil, Ravi Shenoy, Mithun Uliyar, Gururaj Putraya, Pushkar Patwardhan and Krishna AG, LightMetrics uses edge AI and analyses video feeds from the camera installed in vehicles to understand driver behaviour, reduce accidents and improve safety.

“This investment by Sequoia Capital India is a testament to the fact that we are building the preeminent video-based fleet safety platform globally. We will invest deeply in building the most advanced and efficient edge AI, empowering our customer base to deliver this critical technology across the entire fleet ecosystem, and expanding our international footprint,” said Soumik Ukil, CEO and cofounder, LightMetrics.

LightMetrics provides a video telematics platform with AI on the edge to allow fleets to gain visibility into several risky driving behaviours based on real-time analysis of road and driver-facing cameras.

The data aggregated from all vehicles in the fleet is presented in the form of insights with workflows to manage the fleet from a safety and driver behaviour perspective.

The startup claims that its solutions have been deployed by over 2,500 fleets across India, the Middle East, the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and South Africa. Further, the startup claims that fleets using LightMetrics saw risky driving behaviour after a few months of its adoption.

Ashish Agrawal, MD, Sequoia India, added, “LightMetrics’ ability to deploy advanced computer vision models on the edge, across a range of dash cameras, enables it to serve all vehicle types in this large market. At Sequoia Capital India, we expect advancements in AI to transform several industries and are excited to partner with LightMetrics on their quest to improve road safety.”

The startup added that it does not sell to fleets directly and works with telematics service providers and fleet management companies. It offers its customers the choice to either use in-house APIs or build their UI. LightMetrics stated that it does not sell cameras and is hardware agnostic.

LightMetrics has raised funds at a time when growth-stage funding declined 76% year-on-year (YoY) to $747 Mn in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 from $2.9 Bn in Q1 2022, according to Inc42’s ‘Indian Tech Startup Funding Report, Q1 2023’.

According to the Inc42 data, there were 30 Series A funding deals in Q1 2023, with InsuranceDekho ($150 Mn), Charge+Zone ($54 Mn) and Mintoak ($20 Mn) raising the biggest Series A rounds of the year so far.