Visual Telematics Startup Cautio Closes Seed Round At $3 Mn

SUMMARY

The round was raised in two tranches. In the first tranche, Cautio raised $1.2 Mn and in the latest round it bagged $1.8 Mn

Amal Parikh, 8i Ventures, AU Small Finance Bank, 9Unicorns, Venture Catalysts and Antler India, among others have invested in the round

The fresh proceeds will be used to expand its research and development, enhance AI capabilities and scale up its presence across India’s fleet operators

Visual telematics startup Cautio has marked the final close of its seed funding round at $3 Mn (INR 26.3 Cr).

The round was raised in two tranches. In the first tranche, Cautio raised $1.2 Mn from 9Unicorns, Venture Catalysts, Antler India, Infinyte Club, MeitY through PIEDS-BITS Pilani and CARS24 founders Gajendra Jangid and Vikram Chopra, in April.

In the latest tranche, the startup bagged $1.8 Mn led by angel investor Amal Parikh, with participation from 8i Ventures, AU Small Finance Bank, Vibha Chetan (Partner – Cheravi Ventures), Venture Catalysts, Multiply Ventures founding partner Raveen Sastry, Bounce cofounder Vivekananda Hallekere and JAR cofounder Nishchay AG.

The startup plans to deploy the fresh proceeds to expand its research and development, enhance AI capabilities and scale up its presence across India’s fleet operators, intercity and intracity bus operators and school transport networks.

A chunk of the capital will also be used in strengthening Cautio’s on-ground installation and servicing capabilities to ensure seamless adoption for fleets.

Founded by Ankit Acharya and Pranjal Nadhani in 2023, Cautio is working on an affordable AI-powered dash-cam and operating system (OS) as a solution for fleet operators and commercial vehicles in India to enhance safety for drivers and riders, while also improving fleet productivity, fleet ancillary costs and shrink on-road accidents toll.

The company claims that its unwavering dedication to safety has attracted widespread interest from cab, auto and fleet owners and drivers.

“This fresh investment allows us to strengthen our technology, grow our team, and expand our deployment footprint to ensure road safety becomes the norm, not the exception.” Nadhani said.

In July last year, the startup secured INR 6.5 Cr pre-seed funding co-led by Antler, 8i Ventures and AU Small Finance Bank in a mix of equity and debt infusion.

The development comes at a time when investors are increasingly betting on Indian AI startups driven by a host of factors, including technological innovation and disruption, expanding use cases and applications, talent and technology acquisition and strategic positioning, among others.

According to Inc42’s half-yearly investor survey, early and growth stage investors are most bullish on AI startups, which are likely to attract significant capital in H2 2025.