Zimplistic Inventions, the startup that created Rotimatic, the world’s first fully automated robot roti-maker, has raised Series A funding from Singapore-based venture capitalist NSI Ventures.
DEALSTREETASIA has learnt NSI Ventures’ investment in the appliance maker that can churn out one roti (Indian bread) per minute – developed by Singapore-based co-founders Pranoti Nagarkar and Rishi Israni – to be over $1 million.
It is also learnt that following the deal, NSI Ventures’ partner Hian Goh will join the board of Zimplistic Inventions.
With other investors joining the fray, the Singapore and US-based Zimplistic Inventions is set to announce a significant Series A round soon, industry executives familiar with the development said.
Zimplistic’s roti and wrap-making invention has been the talk of the town lately since it was launched.
The product, which took six years to develop, has received overwhelming demand, with its 2015 pre-order batch already sold out in July last year. Such has been the demand for the product which promises to lighten the daily task in millions of households of making rotis, that the company collected more than $5 million within a week of opening pre-order sales for Rotimatic last year.
The pre-order launch that was only open to consumers in Singapore and the US was sold out for year, despite its hefty price tag of $599.
In fact, a video that the company had uploaded on demonstrating how their product works, had gone viral, and had seen over three millions of views.
An executive familiar with the development said NSI Ventures is now working with Zimplistic to scale up the production of the kitchen robotics innovation in response to the demand.
NSI Ventures is a venture capital firm backed by Southeast Asian private equity firm Northstar Group. The firm invests only in the Series A and B rounds. One of its recent deals was in healthcare technology company ConneXion Asia, in which it led a $8 million round of investment.
Rotimatic’s first investor was Indian businessman Deepak Gurnani, who put in an undisclosed round in the angel round according to a report by AsiaOne.
Subsequently, the company had raised a seed investment round from DGG Group, VIR Private Investors, Spring Singapore and NUS Enterprise.
Gurnani still sits on the board of the Zimplistic, which is co-founded by Singapore-based Indian engineer Pranoti Nagarkar, a graduate from the National University of Singapore and her software expert husband Rishi Israni. Nagarkar is the CTO while Israni is the CEO of Zimplistic.
Last year, a story on Mashable had explained how the easy-to-use robot roti-maker achieves the unleavened Indian bread signature look by just supplying the ingredients into its compartments.
According to the FAQ page on the company’s website, Rotimatic can produce 20 rotis in one go, at a rate of one roti per minute, and comes with options for oil, thickness and roast levels.
“Rotimatic allows the user to customize the roti as per preference – the thickness as well as how soft or well done one likes it. The diameter is similar to normal sized rotis cooked at home. Rotimatic has been designed to make fresh rotis and wraps with whole-wheat flour. You can also mix chilli, turmeric, salt and other dry flavorings to it to experiment with various flavours,” adds the company’s FAQ page.
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