The Bengaluru-based startup said the funds will be used to accelerate product expansion by investing in tooling and advanced manufacturing techniques, building the team, and collaborating with content creators for marketing.
“If we can get young India to cook more at home by making cooking fun, diverse and convenient, it has a direct impact on health, quality of life and how good you feel about yourself. We want to be the brand that enables these emotions in our customers,” cofounder and chief executive of Upliance AI, Mahek Mody, told ET.
Founded in 2021, the startup launched its first appliance in 2023 – an AI cooking assistant that merges machine learning and AI to automate cooking processes, including chopping, stirring, mixing, and heating with a collection of more than 500 guided recipes.
The company siad it has sold close to 1,000 appliances, with 80% of orders originating from the company’s website, while Amazon contributing 15%, and offline retail stores the remaining 5%, said Mody.
Upliance AI aims to boost its revenue to Rs 150 crore in 2024 and scale production to 20,000 units per annum in the next six months. According to Mody, the company has generated a total revenue of around Rs 1.5 crore.
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“Our growth has come a lot from the word of mouth. The plan is to amplify the voices of our current consumers by spending on organic marketing. As we scale to more markets and increase our revenue, economies of scale will kick in and we will head towards profitability on the overall company front,” Mody added. Upliance AI raised Rs 11 crore in its last funding round in 2023, with investments from Draper Associates, Rukam Capital, and Zerodha-backed venture fund Rainmatter.
Rajesh Swaminathan, partner at Khosla Ventures said, “Mahek and his team have built a product that early consumers love and has the potential to significantly change people’s daily eating routines. We are excited about the health benefits and AI integration capabilities possible with Upliance AI. These are the bold bets we like to take.”
Khosla Ventures has made investments in various AI-focused startups such as OpenAI and Chennai-based Sarvam AI.
