A91 Partners, the investment fund founded by three former managing directors of Sequoia Capital, is close to investing $10 million in energy efficient and connected fan maker Atomberg Technologies, multiple people in the know said.
The deal will include both a primary and secondary component, giving Atomberg Technologies a post-money valuation of $25 million, sources indicated.
It will also net A91 Partners a 40% stake in the Mumbai-based startup, which was the winner in the ‘Best on Campus’ category at the Economic Times Startup Awards 2019.
The due diligence process is nearly complete and the investment could be concluded very shortly, the people said.
Atomberg Technologies and A91 Partners did not respond to ET’s emails till press time.
IDFC Parampara, which invested $1.5 million cumulatively in Atomberg in previous rounds, will partially exit as part of the deal.
ET could not independently verify the returns the early-stage startup fund would get after A91 picks up the stake.
Hero Group’s Suman Kant Munjal had invested $500,000 in Atomberg as part of a pre-Series A round in May.
Atomberg had raised around Rs 14 crore prior to A91’s investment.
The startup has established its ‘Gorilla’ brand of ceiling and table top fans. It services the Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad markets, and has over 300 service centres.
It also has a manufacturing plant in Mumbai, where it produces brushless DC motors, which it claims utilise 65% less energy compared to normal fans.
Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das founded the company in 2012 while they were students of IIT-Bombay.
The company was looking to expand its manufacturing unit and increase its presence in other geographies, Meena, who is also CEO of Atomberg, told ET earlier.
The company claims it controls 10% of the fan market in Mumbai, and is quickly reaching that mark in other cities where it has an offline presence.
Going forward, the company plans to launch other simple home appliances that utilise motors, starting with mixer grinders. Atomberg believes its energy efficient BLDC motors and Internet of Things connectivity will make products more attractive to customers.
Source: Economic Times