Retail Asia 2018 RA September.October 2018 (Online) | Page 16

NEWS
GreyOrange secures US$140m funding
MULTINATIONAL technology
company GreyOrange has announced
US$140 million in Series C funding,
reportedly marking the largest round
ever raised by an industrial robotics
company.
Mithril Capital, co-founded by Ajay
Royan and Peter Thiel, led this round —
which also included Flipkart co-founder
and group CEO Binny Bansal and
other existing investors such as Blume
Ventures. They join Mitsubishi, Flipkart
and the Project Verte as investors in the
company. Additionally, Royan will join
the GreyOrange board.
“As a global investor focused on
GreyOrange is a global technology company
headquartered in Singapore with offices in
India, Japan, Germany and the US.
emerging category leaders, Mithril is
proud to partner with the GreyOrange
team to advance our shared vision
of a universal platform for flexible
automation. As online and offline
channels converge across a wide range
of industries, we are excited to support
robotic solutions that thoughtfully
bridge the world of bits and the world
of atoms, driving better health, safety
and efficiency for workers and customers
alike,” said Royan.
Bansal said: “As an entrepreneur
myself, I have closely followed how
Samay and Akash have built and grown
GreyOrange to become an international
technology company with customers
across the world. I look forward to
supporting and witnessing the new
phase of their growth. The team will
build on its strengths, especially in
AI and machine learning, to launch
new-generation products for flexible
automation.”
Founded in 2011 by Samay
Kohli and Akash Gupta, GreyOrange
is a global technology company
headquartered in Singapore with offices
in India, Japan, Germany and the US.
The firm operates major research and
development (R&D) centres in India,
the US and Singapore.
The new funds will enable
GreyOrange to fulfil its vision of
developing and deploying intuitive,
flexible and scalable solutions for end-
to-end automation across the supply
chain, from factories to fulfilment
centres and beyond. GreyOrange, which
offers robotics technology for operating
flexible automated warehouses, said it
plans to build on the strong growth it
has experienced over the past five years
by expanding operations across Asia,
Europe and the US. The company
recently established its US headquarters
and manufacturing facility in Atlanta,
Georgia and launched a major R&D
centre in Boston, Massachusetts.
Kohli commented: “We are fortunate
to have an experienced management
team and investors with a common
vision to build the next generation of
flexible supply chain systems. Having a
veteran board member and strategist like
Ajay Royan join the board will help fulfil
that vision faster. Fundraising events are
important milestones in a company’s
journey, and for GreyOrange, the funds
will allow us to continue to invest in our
R&D and supply chain to maintain our
market-leading position.” ra
Euromonitor International extends
research to 100 countries
GLOBAL market research company
Euromonitor International announced
in September an enhancement in
its research capability, expanding its
country coverage to 100 markets.
This represents an increase
of 20 countries to Euromonitor
International’s previous geographical
coverage, enabling the firm to track
98% of the global Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and 91% of the global
population.
Euromonitor International’s
market research database Passport
now includes new data and analysis
for some of the fastest developing
countries in Africa, the Middle East,
14
Retail Asia September/October 2018
Asia and Latin America, including
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Anthony Irwin, vice-president of
research at Euromonitor International,
commented: “Our market research
reports empower organisations and
brands of all sizes with strategic
data, analysis and consumer trends.
We know our clients look to us for
cross-country comparable market
size forecasts and shares; our new
ability to do that on 100 markets
further underlines the value of how
Euromonitor International’s data and
analysis can be used to inform strategic
objectives.”
Euromonitor International’s market
research database Passport now includes
new data and analysis for some of the
fastest developing countries.
Euromonitor International
has more than 40 year’s experience
publishing international market reports,
business reference books and online
databases on consumer markets. ra