Kerala, as a state, has displayed amazing results in the area of startups and that too in the technology space. The latest one to receive funding is Inntot, which is engaged in making SDR based end to end digital radio receiver software stacks and though the precise amount invested has not been disclosed, this is a seed round of funding for the startup. The investment has been made by Unicorn India Ventures, which has already made investments in 5 other startups in the state.
Rajith Nair and Prasanth Thankappan are the founders of this startup Inntot and come with a lot of experience working for large companies in the electronics and automotive entertainment products sectors. Their product, a digital radio receiver built on software-based technology helps OEMs integrate it into their products while supplying to automotive manufacturers. The startup has already tasted success by selling its SDR license to a South Korean company, Telechips Inc and there are other similar customers showing interest in buying.
Their digital radio receivers will therefore find a readymade market waiting to grab them. The founders believe that the demand could be for around 7.5 million such receivers in just the markets in India and Asia alone covering the next 3-year period. Cost benefit is one the major USPs their digital radio receivers enjoy.
Inntot will use the funds raised in this round for procuring hi-tech testing equipment and on scaling up the efforts in marketing the products and recruiting more manpower.
Mumbai-based Unicorn India Ventures invests largely in early stage startups and sectors they seem to focus on include consumer, enterprise, healthcare and deep technology. Their interest in Kerala is highlighted by the fact that startups like Genrobotics, Perfectfit, SectorQube, Bank Open and Clootrack have all been funded by them.
In the case of Inntot, Unicorn gets to appoint their representative on the board of the startup company, in return for the investment made. Launching of a Rs 600 crore venture debt fund has been a highlight of Unicorn’s latest activities in the venture funding sector.