Zoho Acquires Asimov Robotics Amid Deeptech Push

Amid its extensive deeptech and R&D push, SaaS giant Zoho has acquired 13-year old robotics startup Asimov Robotics. 

In a statement, Zoho said that the acquisition will help it expand its R&D capabilities in robotics. However, the unicorn didn’t disclose the financial details of the deal.

This marks Zoho’s second investment in a robotics startup. In May 2022, the Sridhar Vembu-led company acquired a stake worth INR 20 Cr in Genrobotics.

Founded in 2012, Asimov Robotics specialises in providing robotic solutions to industries for addressing hazardous, inefficient and repetitive scenarios. Following the acquisition, the startup and its employees would continue their R&D efforts with guidance and mentorship from Zoho’s team. The startup is backed by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM). 

“This association has empowered us to explore new horizons and to become a global brand. I’m feeling incredibly motivated to stretch my limits for making this dream come true,” Asimov Robotics’ founder Jayakrishnan T said on the acquisition. 

Besides the acquisition, the Chennai-based SaaS major announced a partnership with KSUM to open a deeptech product studio to bring together “startups and organisations dedicated to deep-tech research and product development”.

For this, the startup has formed R&D associations with Boson Motors, Vipus Advanced Materials, vTitan, Zentron Labs, Verdant Telemetry & Antenna Systems, Netrasemi, Genrobotics, Energy 24by7 and IIT Bombay. 

“Zoho will collaborate with these startups and organisations to work on specific R&D problems and projects, thereby promoting knowledge sharing and support for research activities in various fields,” the statement added. 

The announcements were made during the official inauguration of Zoho’s Kottarakkara office in Kerala. “Our Kottarakkara office will be dedicated to enhancing our R&D projects in various fields starting with AI and robotics. Apart from our own work in these fields, we also will be collaborating with like-minded deeptech organisations to further amplify our efforts,” Zoho cofounder and CEO Shailesh Davey said. 

Earlier this year, Davey said that Zoho was working on developing its own large language model (LLM), with a focus on Indian languages. He added that the company was aiming to integrate the LLM into its products and make it available for businesses at the “right time”.

Meanwhile, it must be noted that Zoho cofounder Sridhar Vembu moved away from his chief executive role to focus more on R&D as Zoho’s “Chief Scientist“. In January, he said that, in his new role, he will be responsible for deep R&D initiatives at the company. 

“In view of the various challenges and opportunities facing us, including recent major developments in AI, it has been decided that it is best that I should focus full time on R&D initiatives, along with pursuing my personal rural development mission,” he said in a post on X then.

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