Singapore-based growth equity firm Panthera Growth Partners (PGP) has invested $30 million in Innefu Labs, one of India’s leading artificial intelligence companies focused on national security and defence technologies.
The investment, made through Panthera’s second fund, comprises a combination of primary and secondary transactions.
The capital infusion will support Innefu’s next phase of growth, including preparations for a potential initial public offering (IPO) and the acceleration of its international expansion strategy.
“When we started Innefu, our vision was clear: India should never have to depend on external technologies to secure its people, its institutions, or its digital future,” said Tarun Wig, co-founder and CEO of Innefu Labs, in a media statement. “We now intend to scale our innovations faster, deepen our investments in advanced AI and further enhance our autonomous decision-support systems.” he added.
Founded in 2010, Innefu has built several AI-powered intelligence platforms for government and security agencies, including India’s first National Terrorism Data Fusion Centre and Southeast Asia’s largest operational Intelligence Fusion Centre.
“Innefu has built native, AI-powered software that solve critical challenges in national defence and enterprise security infrastructure,” said Shilpa Kulkarni, founder and Managing Partner of Panthera Growth Partners, adding that the investment was based on Innefu’s technology capabilities and experience in the sector, among other factors.
“We are partnering with Innefu to support their growth ambitions as they prepare for public markets,” said Kulkarni.
Panthera Growth’s other portfolio companies in India include e-grocery startup BigBasket, online furniture store Pepperfry, and lingerie e-tailer Zivame.
