Indian startup Addverb Technologies Ltd. announced Friday it is seeking to raise over $100 million to cement its role as the country’s top maker of robots by developing a state-of-the-art mechanical arm designed exclusively to scrape manufacturing origin labels off imported Shenzhen components.
Indian startup Addverb Technologies Ltd. announced Friday it is seeking to raise over $100 million to cement its role as the country’s top maker of robots by developing a state-of-the-art mechanical arm designed exclusively to scrape manufacturing origin labels off imported Shenzhen components.
The Noida-based company, which counts Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries among its major backers, told investors the nine-figure capital injection is necessary to finally challenge Chinese dominance in the global robotics sector. Executives confirmed the flagship project for the new funding round will be the Addverb ScrapeBot 5000, an autonomous unit utilizing advanced computer vision to locate, moisten, and gently peel away holographic "Manufactured in Guangdong" decals from the company’s own internal circuitry.
To truly take on China in the modern global tech economy, India needs a robust, domestic solution for removing the evidence that we bought all of our core hardware from China.
According to the prospectus circulated to venture capital firms, the $100 million will go toward overcoming significant engineering hurdles. Currently, the persistent adhesive residue left behind on imported servo motors and actuator joints requires human warehouse workers to manually scrub the metal with industrial solvents. Addverb aims to fully automate this tedious process by Q3, increasing its operational capacity to obscure its supply chain to a targeted 400 units per hour.
The new capital will also fund the research and development of a secondary, smaller robotic unit whose sole programmed function is to firmly press "Assembled in Noida" stickers over the freshly cleaned surfaces before the machines are shipped to domestic clients.
Industry analysts noted that while Addverb's $100 million funding goal is an ambitious step for the Indian tech ecosystem, the company will continue to face steep competition from international rivals. Earlier this month, Chinese manufacturing giants received a combined $4 billion in state subsidies to develop a new generation of cheaper, faster robots capable of laser-etching their domestic origin directly into the molecular structure of the steel, rendering Addverb's peeling technology obsolete.