Grey Orange raises $140 mn led by T hi el’ s Mi thril Capital

Mithril Capital, the venture capital fund cofounded by American billionaire entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel, has opened its India chapter by leading a $140 million (approx ~10 billion) round in industrial robotics start-up GreyOrange.

Ajay Royan, who co-founded Mithril along with Thiel, will join the board of GreyOrange, which has emerged a leader in the warehouse automation sector globally. Binny Bansal, cofounder and group chief executive officer (CEO) of India’s largest e-commerce marketplace Flipkart, also participated in the round.

The Series C investment also saw the exit of some early backers of GreyOrange, but investors Tiger Global, Blume Ventures, Mitsubishi, Flipkart, and Project Verte continue to retain their stake in the company. GreyOrange did not disclose the valuation at which it had raised the fresh funding. “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 Ajay Royan, co-founder and managing general partner of Mithril Capital, in a statement.

GreyOrange, which recently marked its entry into the US market, is one among a handful of Indian start-ups that has built a global business. The company already has a strong presence in South East Asia, Japan, Germany and India, with two research and development (R&D) centres in Singapore and India, and a third coming up in the US.

The warehouse robotics firm plans utilise the fresh capital to grow its supply chain and bolster R&D, as it aims to double its revenue yearon-year for the next three to four years. It says that the market for warehouse automation is booming given the trend of online retailers moving offline, while offline retailers are moving online. Samay Kohli, co-founder and CEO of GreyOrange, however, said that the round wasn’t just to add firepower to the company’s growth plans. In fact, the company will retain its growth targets after the round.