Reliance Retail picks 54% stake in Addverb Technologies for ₹983 cr

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, the retail unit of Reliance Industries Ltd, has acquired 54% stake in Addverb Technologies for $132 million ( ₹983 crore approximately).

India-based Addverb will continue to operate independently and will use the fresh funds received from RIL to expand business overseas as well as set up one of the biggest robotic manufacturing facilities in Noida, which will be completely automated, Sangeet Kumar, Addverb Technologies co-founder and CEO, said.

"With this investment, Reliance will hold around 54% stake in Addverb. They become the largest shareholder in the company. Reliance was already one of our esteemed clients, with whom we had co-created and delivered highly automated warehouses for their Jio-Mart grocery business. The comfort level and the trust factor were already in place, which led to this association," Addverb CEO said.

The latest investment pushes Addverb’s valuation to the range of $265 million to $270 million (around ₹2,000 crore).

The firm already has a manufacturing plant in Noida where it produces around 10,000 robots per annum.

The strategic partnership with the RIL arm will help us leverage 5G, battery technology through new energy initiatives, advances in material sciences (carbon fibre) to deliver more advanced and affordable robots, he added.

"We are a profitable company. We will use the funds for overseas expansion and expanding manufacturing facilities.

“At present, 80% of our revenue comes from India but this mix is expected to change to 50-50 between India and overseas business in the next 4-5 years. Our revenues from software contribute 15% of the total, which is expected to grow significantly," Kumar stated.

Founded in 2016, Addverb expects to close the current fiscal year with 100% growth in revenue at ₹400 crore compared to ₹200 crore it posted a year ago.

"In the next 5-6 years, we want to be a billion-dollar company in revenue. We do everything in India- design, manufacture and deliver across the world," Kumar said.

Addverb has four subsidiaries located in Singapore, the Netherland, the US and Australia.

"Each of these subsidiaries will expand in terms of workforce. The manufacturing will happen in India, and our overseas subsidiary will help in designing the robots," Kumar added.