Difacto Robotics and Automation has secured INR 40 crore (about USD 4.8 million) from private equity firm Stakeboat Capital in its first financing round.
Ajay Gopalswamy, founder and chief executive of the Bengaluru-headquartered company, told ET that the money will be used to expand across sectors such as cars, home appliances and electronics, as investment and volume in manufacturing go up.
“India’s automotive industry is one of the many areas that leverage robotic automation. It is expected to experience an annual growth of 12.7%, reaching USD 512 billion by 2026,” Gopalswamy said. “It is also poised to contribute 12% of our nation’s GDP. With our established market dominance and track record, we see a strong growth trajectory here.”
Difacto, set up in 2007, operates across four key segments–welding systems, material handling systems, foundry and machine tending systems, and fluid dispensing systems. Mahindra Group, Tata Group, Maruti Suzuki and Toyota India are among its clients.
In FY24, the company’s sales touched INR 175 crore. This figure is expected to grow to INR 225 crore in FY25, Gopalswamy said.
Difacto, with three factories in Bengaluru and branches in Pune and Gurgaon, operates globally. It also has a wholly owned subsidiary in Troy, Michigan, US.
The company has delivered more than 1,000 projects to some 300 customers across 15 countries.
Prior to setting up Difacto, Gopalswamy had spent more than three decades in the industrial robotics and automation industry, working in organisations such as Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Inteltek Automation, ABB Robotics and Fanuc India.
Stakeboat Capital is a Bengaluru-based private equity fund focused on Indian businesses that are at the low-end of the mid-market. Other companies it has backed include Newgen KnowledgeWorks, Ozonotel and Leadsquared.
